Mass Effect: Reignite
by Journeyman-93
Summary: A rewrite of Inferno, hopefully bigger and better. This version strays even further from ME3's storyline, but remains similar to Inferno. The same paragon Shepard is in use for this story. M for violence, language and possible sexual references. And no, this is not the same story twice, read it and see.
1. Escaping Earth

_**Reviews would be appreciated; I am also open to requests if anyone wants me to do something epic or good. I will put in my own ideas for missions and side-quests and will address comments. I know that my previous style had flaws; I am improving, Feenux11. Just bear with me. I am also throwing in new locations, so don't yell at me.**_

* * *

_**Gallows 1-high security prison station, Luna**_

"Breaking news: Commander Shepard has returned to Alliance space and has surrendered willingly to Alliance forces. Commander Shepard, who was born on Earth and fought in the Skyllian Blitz, destroyed the Bahak Relay and a batarian colony. Charges are pending, but they include sabotage, mass murder and genocide. Shepard's warnings about the so-called "Reapers" are discredited as madness."

An Alliance marine walked down the line of cells, listening to the news feed in his helmet. This was a prison for the worst of humanity. Some of the people were cursing him as he walked past, others were clawing at the kinetic barriers and other were curled up on their bunks.

Cell D-14 loomed up, it had an extra barrier even though its occupant hadn't tried to escape. The marine could see the prisoner sat on his bunk, head down, hands clasped together.

Another marine met him at the cell. "All quiet?" He asked.

"Not a word," the marine shrugged, his voice was muffled under his helmet. "He's only asked the courier to take messages."

"Who to?" The prisoner couldn't hear them, not unless they turned the intercom on. They didn't want to hear from most of the prisoners, these were the kind of people who blew up colonies for fun.

They didn't know about Shepard. He was a legend. But he seemed to be a legend that had gone mad and nearly caused a war.

"Some asari named Liara T'Soni." The second marine turned on his speaker, he always forgot. They nicknamed him "Mumbles" because of that. "They keep refusing. He's getting depressed."

"Not even a single call?"

"She's been trying to call him, but they deny his existence."

The marine glanced into the cells, through the hazy blue of the shields. In the shadows, he saw Shepard look up at him, but the former Spectre did nothing. No lashing out, no cursing.

Mumbles leaning on the intercom, on purpose. "He can't give his autograph, he's a criminal now."

Shepard said nothing; he went back to looking at his clasped hands as if they gave him solace or answers.

"You enjoy the dinners?" Mumbles continued. "The cook spits in them." He laughed at his own joke, Shepard still didn't respond.

"They told us to leave him alone." The marine whispered.

"Who gives a damn?" Mumbles shrugged. "That girl of yours, T'Soni. She doesn't want to see you."

That had an effect.

Shepard looked up at them again, his orange prison uniform rustled as he stood up and walked towards the barriers.

He glanced at them both, as if weighing them up.

"I don't suppose you could leave me in peace." He said calmly.

"Thought you could do with some good news." Mumbles goaded. "Blowing up thousands of colonists must be good to you, how about your girlfriend leaving you?"

"What do they call you? Mumbles, isn't it?" Shepard frowned as he recalled the nickname. "Did you get that transfer request sorted?"

"Don't change the topic." Mumbles was grinning under his helmet. "Why an asari anyway? Are they fun in bed?"

A door slammed behind them and they heard heavy footsteps.

"Oh crap." Mumbles mumbled.

"You two!" A woman yelled. "You have your orders; see to them before I have you cleaning latrines! Shift it!"

The two marines hurried away. The woman approached the cell.

"Commander, I'm sorry about that. The cameras froze up for a moment." She apologised.

"You're not supposed to call me that, Commander." Shepard stated.

"We don't all believe that bullshit the Council tells us about you." The Commander said. "Come on! We fought together on Dante, I owe you my life."

"I don't need your life, Commander Hall. Have you got any messages?"

"Yes, I don't know how your Doctor T'Soni gets them past our firewalls, but I've got one." Sarah Hall had been transferred to Gallows-1 after a botched mission in the Terminus systems had gone wrong. "She wants to see you and has offered to speak at your trial."

"I'd like to see her again."

"Sadly, they'll only allow your friends to speak via holograms at the trial."

"That's better than nothing."

"Shepard," Hall sighed, "you don't deserve this. Reapers or not."

"I destroyed a colony, Sarah." Shepard reminded her. "You shouldn't be here either."

"Yeah, I know. It sucks but neither of us can change it." She agreed. "We're going to Earth tomorrow, the hearing is in Anchorage."

"Not quite the homecoming I was expecting." Shepard commented. "I thought they were judging me in Vancouver."

"There have been riots in Vancouver," Hall explained. "Washington is busy so they decided on Anchorage."

An alarm buzzed and a red glare filled the hallway for a moment, reminding Shepard of a Reaper for a second.

"I'd better go." Hall told him. "I'll see you on the shuttle tomorrow."

Hall ran off down the hallway, no doubt some violent inmate had escaped. They never got out; they had no access to the breathing equipment needed to run to Armstrong and no chance of stealing a shuttle.

Shepard sat down on his bunk. He still hated the metal frame that dug into his back.

He only just managed sleep by remembering Liara being with him before this. He still woke up recalling the feel of her skin and her scent.

Still, he'd see her tomorrow. Even if it was via hologram, it was better than nothing.

* * *

Above Earth, unbeknownst to Shepard, Aldrin Station was monitoring something strange.

They were losing contact with colonies and their spy teams and satellites had stopped reporting in the batarian systems.

The Charon Relay was acting oddly too; it was registering a lot of traffic. The ships coming through were apparently huge.

"Could it be a virus?" Someone asked.

"No, the firewall is active and working." One of the techs answered.

"Then what is it?"

No-one could say for certain, but if Shepard had been present he would have known immediately.

The Reapers were coming for Earth.

* * *

They gave him an Alliance uniform and let him clean up before leaving for Anchorage. The shuttle ride was uneventful, although there seemed to be a larger number of warships around than normal.

Anchorage wasn't the capital of the Alliance, no city was. They seemed to like Vancouver, but there was violence there. Some people wanted Shepard to be pardoned; others wanted him to receive the death penalty.

Shepard had been born there; he had lived on the streets. He wondered if anyone except for the Tenth Street Reds could remember that.

"You look better, Shepard." Hall smiled at him, ignoring the glare from an Alliance official.

"Thanks." Shepard nodded. "I'd hate to turn up in a prison uniform."

"Anderson insisted that you appear as an Alliance soldier, since they refused to give you your N7 armour."

Shepard could understand that, Anderson was his friend. He would be speaking at the trial too. He would also be using a hologram. He was a Councillor on the Citadel; he had a lot to do.

The shuttle took an hour to reach Anchorage. Shepard could barely see the city through all the snow billowing past the window.

The shuttle landed in front of the Alliance Council building; there was one in every major city. They had a habit of moving around instead of doing everything in one place, unlike the Council on the Citadel.

Two armed guards led Shepard, Hall and the officials into the building. The nervous official was called Nielson, he was a lawyer. The other one was there to present evidence of some kind, Shepard didn't know his name.

They were steered down several hallways and left outside the main chamber. People were hurrying around; Shepard could almost sense the panic in the air.

Something was amiss. It wasn't his trial.

"Commander?" A voice asked.

Shepard looked up to see a muscled man standing in front of him. Shepard stood up and shook the man's hand.

"I'm not a Commander, James." He reminded him. "But it's good to see you."

"Same to you." James Vega nodded. "I remember when they asked me to watch your cell on the _Seattle_. That was a hell of a surprise." The _Seattle _was the ship that had taken Shepard back to Earth. He had surrendered himself near Pluto, to a passing patrol which had included the _SSV Seattle_.

"Mr Shepard." the glaring official coughed. It felt odd to be called that, he was still used to being called a Commander.

James frowned at the official. "I guess I'm not welcome here." James shrugged. "Good luck in there, Shepard."

They waited for a few more minutes until they were called for. The court was laid out like an old fashioned one, with a witness box a dock and everything. But it was modern, ceramics instead of wood.

There was a floor-to-ceiling window where the Councillors were sitting. Shepard could see the city through the snow now.

There was a holographic projector in the witness box, Shepard realised that no witnesses would be here in the flesh.

The Council seemed to be impatient to get the whole thing over with, one of them was looking at his watch and another was putting down a cup of coffee.

"Mr Shepard, you stand accused of destroying the Bahak Relay and the system itself. This resulted in the death of three hundred thousand batarians. How do you plead?"

Shepard didn't know how to respond to that at first. "Guilty." He admitted.

That would have been it, but this wasn't an ordinary trial. No human had ever stood accused of such a terrible crime since the Second World War at least.

"Councillor Anderson and Admiral Hackett insist that you be allowed to plead your case," the middle Councillor stated, sounding bored, "with testimonies."

The third on pressed a switch and the hologram activated.

Shepard felt his heart skip a beat. Liara was still as he remembered her, although she looked tired.

"Doctor Liara T'Soni, you requested that you give your testimony as soon as possible." The left side Councillor said. "What is your relationship with the accused?"

Shepard was sure that they already knew, but it was a formality.

"Shepard is my friend." Liara began. Shepard could tell that she was nervous. "I fought alongside him when the Citadel was attacked."

"He pleads guilty to the charges of mass murder and genocide. Do you concur?"

Liara glanced at Shepard. "Shepard would never do anything for the wrong reasons." She answered. "He might have caused the destruction, but he did it for good reasons."

"Because of the _Reapers_?"

"Yes."

"Aside from Shepard's accounts of the Reapers, what evidence do you have for believing in them?"

"I spoke to the Prothean VI on Ilos and I saw Sovereign attacking the Citadel."

"That was a geth warship and there was no VI on Ilos."

Liara frowned, she hated that cover story. No-one wanted to accept the truth.

"Shepard and I are telling the truth." She argued. "Shepard _had _to stop the Reapers and the only way to do that was to destroy the Bahak Relay. He is _not _guilty."

The Councillors whispered amongst themselves. Liara shared a glance with Shepard, a longing glance.

He was almost hurt, but in a good way. Even though he had killed hundreds of thousands of people, she still loved him.

"Thank you for your testimony, Doctor T'Soni." The hologram shut down then reactivated.

Another good friend, a turian this time.

"Garrus Vakarian, you also aided Shepard in his missions."

"Yes, he is my friend." Garrus nodded. "Before you ask, he's innocent."

"Shepard claims that the Reapers were about to invade using the Bahak Relay. Do you support his claim?"

"Yes." Garrus stated. "I helped him to defeat Saren and Sovereign, and then we took on the Collectors. Shepard is the best Spectre and friend I've ever worked with, there's no way he'd blow up a system for the hell of it."

The Councillors whispered again before carrying on. "Thank you for your testimony."

The projector went off again. Shepard knew that the decision had already been made, long before he had arrived. They were going to turn him into a scapegoat and throw him back in jail if not kill him outright.

The projector activated again and faltered this time.

"Tali'Zorah'vas'Neema is out of range." One of the Councillors stated. "Lieutenant-Commander Williams is on an assignment."

"What about Councillor Anderson?" Shepard asked.

They ignored him. "We've lost contact with the Hegemony?"

"It could be a solar flare." One of the Councillors suggested.

"None were predicted for today." Another one argued.

"We'll just have to carry on without the testimonies." The middle Councillor stated. He turned back to Shepard. "You are declared guilty of destroying a Mass Relay, trying to incite a war, mass murder and attempted genocide. Shepard, you have stained the honour of the Alliance, tarnished our place in this galaxy. You are sentenced to life imprisonment."

He meant the _life _part. They were going to lock him up and throw away the key.

It could have been the death sentence, but Anderson had probably made them steer clear of that option.

Two marines and Hall escorted Shepard from the room. Shepard remained silent as they boarded the shuttle and flew back to the moon. They simply took him back to his cell in Gallows-1 and locked him inside.

"Sorry, Shepard." Hall apologised again. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault." He told her. "Just make sure that they're ready."

"Ready for what?" Hall asked.

"You know what I mean." Shepard sighed and sat down on his bunk. "Whether you believe me or not, they need to be ready."

Hall nodded. "I'll try." She promised. "I believe you, Commander." She saluted before leaving, even if she wasn't supposed to.

Shepard wondered if Liara had heard the news. He could imagine her crying when it came. He guessed that Garrus would start coming up with escape plans, maybe Tali would hack security.

It was a long shot. Guilty or not, the Reapers had to be stopped.

* * *

Shepard woke to the sound of his cell being opened. The corridor was dark, the lights were out.

Hall entered his cell; she was aiming an assault rifle down the hallway.

"What's going on?" Shepard sat up. "Has there been a riot?"

"No, worse than that." Hall was scared, that was a bad sign. "We're under attack."

"The Reapers?" Shepard stood up, suddenly tense.

"Must be," Hall nodded. "I've never seen anything like them; they cut through my men in seconds." She pulled out her sidearm and handed it to Shepard. "Here, it's not much but it's all I can spare."

Shepard checked the weapon. It was an M-3 Predator handgun, not the most powerful of weapons but it would do for now.

"The armoury is in the next section." Hall continued. "We can retrieve your armour and some weapons there."

"And then what?" Shepard asked.

"We take a shuttle to London." Hall explained. "It took some hacking, but I found out that the _Normandy _has been impounded there. Ashley Williams is already on her way with the crew."

Something growled nearby and the two humans raised their weapons.

"Shit, those things are everywhere!" Hall whispered. "Even the turrets and shields couldn't keep them out." She glanced down the corridor before moving out of the cell. "Follow me and stay close."

At least the lights were out. In his orange prison uniform, Shepard felt like a beacon. He'd be happier in his armour with a bigger gun.

Something squelched under his foot. Shepard didn't look down; he could guess what was under his foot.

"One of the barriers kept them away from your cell." Hall whispered.

"What happened to it?"

"It ran out of power." She shook her head. "They disabled the grid. Backup power is keeping the air flowing."

The lights were flickering in the next corridor. Hall gestured for Shepard to stop.

Shepard could see two husks ahead, trying to break through a metal door.

"That prison uniform doesn't have shields." Hall reminded him. "Let me handle them."

"No, we work as a team." Shepard told her. "You take one; I'll take out the other."

Hall raised her assault rifle, aiming at the husk on the left. Shepard aimed at the second husk.

The first husk fell with three rounds in its back. Shepard fired twice; the second shot went through the husk's head.

"You're not rusty." Hall remarked.

They moved into one of the larger cell blocks, one that held less hostile prisoners. All of the cells were lifeless; the Reapers had killed the occupants.

"No guards." Hall whispered. "The bastards killed them all."

"Stay calm, Sarah." Shepard told her. "We can make it."

The emptiness was disturbing when Shepard could hear the Reapers outside. The harsh blaring sounds cut through the walls and into his head.

"In here." Hall tapped a code into a panel and a door slid open. "Grab your equipment." She kept watch whilst Shepard abandoned the prison uniform. He found his N7 armour and put it on quickly, grabbing an M8 Avenger too.

He felt better in his armour, the grey plates were nicked and scratched and the red trim needed more paint, but it was his armour.

"I'm ready." He told Hall.

"Good, the shuttles aren't far from here." She led him through the prison. There weren't many husks inside. Shepard guessed that the Reapers were concentrating on Armstrong and Earth.

Aldrin might have been giving them trouble, but he had seen what a single Reaper had done to the Council fleets, Earth didn't stand much of a chance.

"Husks!" Hall opened fire on the charging creatures. Shepard took aim and mowed them down.

Something slammed into the wall, near his head. He took aim at something that vaguely resembled a batarian and shot it down.

The Reapers were deploying new husks. Not good.

"Those ones look like batarians." Hall murmured.

"Didn't we lose contact with Khar'shan?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah," Hall swallowed, "I guess we know what happened to them."

They moved on, stepping over the bodies in the corridor. They reached the hanger bay; Hall knew which routes were the quickest and safest. She also had the codes.

They took one of the few intact shuttles; the Reapers had caused a lot of damage.

Escaping the prison had been the easy part, they still had to reach London and escape from the Sol system.

Shepard didn't want to run. But he knew better than anyone else that they needed more support.

"God!" Hall pointed as she steered the shuttle towards Earth. "Look at it all!"

Shepard didn't want to, but he felt glued to the sight.

The fleets were gone. Aldrin station was in pieces. Armstrong had been obliterated.

Hordes of Reapers were descending on Earth, a hellish shower of killing machines.

Something banging against the shuttle window. Half of a marine floated past, his face twisted in an expression of pain.

"Can you stop this, Shepard?" Hall looked at him, her voice filled with desperation. "Can you?"

"I don't know." Shepard admitted. "But I'm going to try."

The Reapers were busy attacking Earth and any ships trying to fight back or escape, they didn't notice the single shuttle heading towards England.

It was only when they entered the stratosphere that they encountered trouble.

An alarm began to beep rapidly.

"Shit!" Hall glanced at the radar. "Fighters are on our tail. This can's got a turret, get it running."

Shepard brought up the displays and turned the turret round. He could see triangular shapes following them; the bluish metal and red lights marked them as Reaper drones.

Shepard waited for the crosshair to turn red before firing, reducing two fighters to scrap. More were coming. A fighter against a shuttle was not a fair fight, even if Shepard was a good shot.

"Pour it on, Shepard!" Hall whooped as Shepard sent another fighter spiralling into the English Channel.

Red flashes illuminated the shuttle; the fighters were within range now. Shepard kept shooting them down as flew over the Thames and into London.

The city was burning. Reapers were landing and advancing through the city.

Shepard caught sight of a sniper trying to survive in Big Ben. Gunships flew past the shuttle, trying to engage Reaper forces.

"There's the hanger." Hall pointed at a structure near the Thames barrier.

The alarm beeped again, red exclamation marks filled the turret's HUD.

"Missile!" Shepard barely had time to shout it before the shuttle was hit.

The shuttle spiralled towards the city, fire trailing from its engines.

"Brace!" Hall yelled as the Canary Wharf tower came into view.

The shuttle hit the tower and slammed into a wall. The collision was enough to make them black out for a few moments.

"Shepard!" Hall shook him urgently. "Don't die on me, Commander."

"I'm alright." Shepard assured her, stepping out of the wrecked cockpit and into the building. They had crashed on the fifth floor and had been lucky to survive.

"Goddamn it!" Hall kicked the broken shuttle. "We almost made it."

"We still can." Shepard checked his assault rifle. "Come on."

The building was a mess too; it looked like a Reaper had carved through it. Only half of it was left, it had been sliced down the middle.

Shepard could hear gunfire, screams and Reapers. Three things Shepard never liked to hear.

"This is Commander Hall to Lieutenant-Commander Williams, can you hear us?" Hall radioed.

"We've reached the Normandy." Williams reported. "Joker is getting ready for take-off. Where are you?"

"Canary Wharf." Hall said. "We got shot down."

"Vega is holding the line near your location." Ashley told them. "Find him and he'll take you to the Normandy."

With that, they took the barely functioning lift down to the ground floor and stepped out into a burning city.

Rain was driving into the city, appropriate really.

Blood was running down the streets, most of it was human.

They would have to move quietly, despite their skill they were still outnumbered and outgunned.

"Keep your head down." Hall gestured and they hid behind a broken wall.

A large number of husks and Reaper tank passed on the other side. The tank had fearsome looking cannons.

"They're gone." Hall whispered. "Let's go."

The torrential rain couldn't drown out the sounds as they moved towards the Thames hanger.

Shepard could hear gunfire again, closer this time. "I hope that's Vega."

"Me too." Hall agreed.

They stumbled upon a squad of Alliance soldiers holding off the Reapers, taking cover behind some destroyed Mako IFVs.

Vega was there, equipped with heavy Defender armour and an assault rifle.

"Shepard, Hall, over here!" Vega saw them and called them over.

The two of them sprinted into cover. Projectiles were thudding into the IFVs and there were spent thermal clips all over the place.

"It's hell down here!" Vega shouted over the noise.

"We need to reach the _Normandy_." Shepard told him.

"Yeah, no kidding." James fired another burst and two husks hit the ground. "We lost the Makos, so we're running."

Something shook the ground, a shadow loomed over them.

"Holy shit that's big!" Vega cursed.

"_State the obvious." _Shepard thought dryly.

The Reaper advancing on them was smaller than the Sovereign classes, but was huge nevertheless.

The panels on its front opened as it charged its main weapon.

"Run!" Shepard yelled.

The marines took the hint and began to sprint down the street.

Rubble flew into the air as the beam sliced through the street. There was a scream and a marine next to Shepard was blown apart. Blood hit his armour as he ran.

"Keep running!" Vega shouted. "Don't stop!"

The ground shook with every step the Reaper took, it was gaining on them.

"Shepard, in here!" Hall yelled. Shepard ran through the doors and Hall closed them.

They'd reached the hanger, but the walls couldn't keep the Reaper out.

"Commander." Shepard looked up to see Ashley on the catwalk above. "We have to go, now!"

Shepard climbed up onto the catwalk with James and Hall. The building shook as the Reaper fired its weapon at the hanger.

"This is loco!" James shouted as he ran into the airlock.

Hall paused as the Reaper howled.

"Come on!" Shepard called from the airlock.

"I'm not leaving." Hall stated.

"You can't stay here!" Shepard protested.

"Shepard, we have to go!" Joker called from the cockpit. "I'm not losing another _Normandy_."

"You saw those marines, the devastation." Hall argued. "Someone has to rally them, give them hope. I have to stay, Shepard." She paused. "I'm sorry."

Shepard shook his head. "I'll return, with every fleet I can get." He promised. "Good luck."

"You too, Shepard."

The airlock closed behind Shepard as the _Normandy _took off and sped away from London. The images from the displays were chaotic and brutal. It wasn't just London that was burning.

It was the entire planet.

Earth was just the start too; if nothing was done then the entire galaxy would be aflame.

* * *

_**Reviews would be appreciated. I'm amending some flaws I found with the game in general this time, not just the endings. And no, the battle for Earth does not take place in London this time and I will be more ambitious instead of following the ME3 storyline.**_

_**If you have any requests or ideas, then send me a message and I'll see if it's suitable.**_


	2. God of War

_**Of course, Mars will have to stay. But if I can change it then I will. Bear with me; this will be longer than Inferno. For a start, recruitment is akin to Mass Effect 2's, Shepard has to actually go out there and find his friends. **_

_**Just so you know I'm using the ME2 **_**Normandy **_**layout with some extra bits.**_

* * *

"Ah, Commander!" Joker called. "We've got a problem and a message from Admiral Hackett."

"Hit me, Joker." Shepard folded his arms.

"We're low on fuel." Joker admitted. "Don't yell. It's hard to refuel when the end of the world's happening."

"I'll take the message in the briefing room." Shepard walked away, past the galaxy map and into the briefing room.

Admiral Hackett didn't have the Illusive Man's advanced holographic technology, but the table descended and showed the hologram anyway.

The signal was bad, the image was lagging.

"EDI, can you clear this up?" Shepard asked the AI.

The image became clearer. "Commander? Are you there?" Hackett asked.

"I'm here, Admiral." Shepard confirmed.

"I heard about your trial, it was a sham." Hackett stated. "I pulled the fleets back; we lost over half our ships when the Reapers arrived."

"Commander Hall remained on Earth to coordinate a resistance."

"I see." Hackett nodded. "I'll be plain, Commander. I need your help. There's a group of scientists on Mars working in the archives. I need to reinstate you. You need to find those scientists and the project they were working on."

"What have they found?"

"Something that could help us in this fight." Hackett answered. "Anything that can give us an advantage over the Reapers is worth considering. Get to Mars before the Reapers do."

Shepard saluted. "Yes sir."

"Hackett out." The hologram faded.

Shepard returned to the cockpit. "Joker, set a course to Mars." He instructed.

"Mars?" Joker frowned. "If you say so."

"Ashley, James." Shepard called. "Grab your gear, we're landing on Mars."

* * *

The _Normandy _managed to avoid the Reaper fleet and arrived at the archives, docking in the hanger bay. The doors sealed behind them. Shepard and his squad stepped out into the hanger.

"The head researcher is Professor Samuel Okadi." EDI told them through their radios. "This facility has reduced power usage in an attempt to remain hidden."

"Is it working?" Ashley asked.

"It will not work for long." EDI answered. "It is a low priority target for the Reapers."

"Until they learn that there's a weapon here." James muttered.

Something thudded nearby and Shepard pulled out his pistol.

"Don't shoot!" A man stood up, holding up his hands. He was wearing a lab coat, he was a non-combatant.

Shepard lowered his pistol. "Who are you?"

"Doctor Lawrence." The man stammered. "I'm not armed, don't shoot me."

"Where's Professor Okadi?"

"He's in the archives." Lawrence gestured over his shoulder. "But the trams are down since he reduced the power."

"Great." Ashley muttered. "So we can't reach him."

"Well…" Lawrence began. "There is a prototype we've been working on, down here." He led them out of the hanger and into a garage. There were a few Grizzlies inside, none of them in prime condition.

"Here." Lawrence pointed at what Shepard thought was an M44 Hammerhead. It was a hovercraft, but it had rocket pods, a mass accelerator and twin machine guns. It also had thicker plating and a kinetic barrier.

"This is the M47 Tiger-Shark." Lawrence explained. "The techs were working on a vehicle that had the M35 Mako's firepower and strength and the M44 Hammerhead's speed."

"Why didn't you use it?" James asked.

"I don't know how to drive it." Lawrence admitted.

"All those qualifications and he can't drive." James shook his head.

Shepard climbed into the tank and sat in the pilot's seat. He flicked through the manual and found that the controls were similar to the Hammerhead's.

"Get in." He told them. "I've got this."

Shepard piloted the Tiger-Shark out of the garage and towards the archives. He could only see a disc shaped building, but he knew that the archives were mostly underground.

The M47 was performing well, it was agile and according to the HUD it wasn't lacking in power. At least it wasn't as cramped as the Mako or Hammerhead; he could actually stand up in this one.

"Check that out," James pointed past Shepard's head. "That's a huge storm."

"Good thing we're in this tank." Ashley said.

"It'll make navigation difficult." Shepard pointed out. "We need to move." He activated his radio. "Joker, have you refuelled?"

"We're good." Joker replied. "We're waiting for you now."

"There's a storm coming, expect us to be a while."

"Right, we'll just sit here and put the kettle on."

Ashley shook her head. "How does he remain so upbeat when Earth is burning?"

"It's his way of coping." Shepard explained.

The tank floated into the archive garage, the doors sealed behind them. It was dark inside, the power was low.

"Flashlights." Shepard stated as he stepped out of the IFV. Three beams of light stabbed into the darkness.

"No welcoming party?" James muttered.

"No shooting unless we come under attack." Shepard ordered. "There are civilians here." He looked back at Lawrence, who was hiding behind the Tiger-Shark's hatch. "We need directions."

Lawrence whimpered and left the IFV.

The corridors were deserted, no lights were on and nothing indicated signs of life.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." James murmured.

"He's right." Ashley agreed. "Where is everybody? There should be people and mechs around here."

"It's too quiet." Shepard nodded. "Stay ready and take your safeties off."

"My safety's always off." James smirked.

"You're crazy." Ashley hissed.

"Quiet." Shepard told them sharply. "Which way?"

"Um… go left." Lawrence instructed.

The emptiness of the place reminded Shepard of Gallows-1 when the Reapers attacked. Had they reached the archives already?

"Lawrence, how many people are in this facility?" Shepard asked.

"About sixty."

"Where are they?" Shepard asked. "Is there a panic room or a bunker?"

"No."

Their footsteps echoed in the darkness as they advanced. Their flashlights continued to show very little.

James' passed over one of the walls. It went back again. "Commander, over here."

Shepard glanced at the wall.

There were three holes, unmistakeably bullet holes. So they either had company or security had become trigger happy. Shepard guessed that it was the former.

"EDI, can you detect anything?" Shepard radioed.

"I have located several small power signatures." EDI replied. "There is a larger signature inside the archives."

That wasn't helpful, but it would have to do.

"Stay sharp." Shepard warned his squad.

"Movement!" James raised his assault rifle. His flashlight illuminated a LOKI mech clanking towards them.

"It's a security mech." Lawrence sounded relieved as he walked towards it.

"Doc, wait!" James' warning came too late as the mech raised its weapon and shot Lawrence in the chest.

Shepard responded by blowing the mech's head off. Security really had become trigger happy.

"He's dead." Ashley had just turned Lawrence over. Two of the bullets had gone through his heart. "Why did the security mech shoot him?"

"It must have malfunctioned." James assumed.

"Or it was hacked." Shepard added. "Weapons free, but check your targets first."

They stepped over the body of Doctor Lawrence, they had no guide now.

EDI was trying to hack into the security network, but it was fortified. This was an invaluable source of information, it made sense.

"I don't know about you, but stumbling around in the dark is a bad idea." James said. "We should turn the power on."

"Good idea." Shepard agreed. "EDI, where's the power generator?"

"There should be one in section D-4." EDI showed the route on their omni-tools. Shepard was glad that the Alliance hadn't learnt about the AI.

There was a flash of light and three bullets hit Shepard's shields. The squad took cover as four security mechs advanced.

LOKI mechs were stupid, unlike the geth. They just walked towards their enemies firing as they went until they ran out of ammo, killed their opponents or were destroyed.

James hefted a grenade and hurled it at the mechs.

The explosion hurt their ears, bits of mech flew past. Shepard heard something clang violently and looked up to see a piece of metal above his head. He'd nearly gained an unwanted haircut.

"That's four for me!" James whooped. "You're lagging." He ducked as a legless mech fired at him.

Ashley fired a single shot through the mech's head. "Three actually." She commented. "Always make sure that they're dead."

The explosion was bound to attract more mechs. Shepard made a mental note to get some silencers at some point.

"Door's locked." Ashley groaned, seeing the red panel ahead.

"I've got this." Shepard activated his omni-tool and began to hack the door. He just needed to find the right codes. He still remembered the days when slapping omni-gel on things opened them.

The panel flashed green and the door opened. Shepard entered a room with three large cylinders. Two of the generators had red lights on, one seemed to be damaged. His flashlight illuminated bullet holes and marks from a blunt object, maybe a crowbar or a hammer.

"Looks like sabotage." He murmured. "Any advice, EDI?"

"You can reroute power from the primary generator to the secondary and tertiary generators." EDI replied. "However, restoring the power will activate more security mechs."

"We haven't got much of a choice." James said.

Shepard activated the primary generator's interface and began to transfer power. It was tricky; it reminded him of repairing a damaged VI on Noveria. Each grid could only go with a certain configuration.

It took him three minutes to get it right. The generator whirred again and the lights came on.

Along with an alarm.

"That's the wakeup call!" James called as he fired at an approaching mech. Shepard left the generator room and saw the mech. This one was armoured and carrying an assault rifle.

Shepard took aim and blew its right arm off, disarming it. Ashley took the opportunity and riddled its chest with bullets.

"That's a new one." Ashley stated.

"It is an ORCUS mech." EDI was probably watching through their omni-tools. "This one has been given Alliance symbols, but they are advanced versions of the LOKI mech." EDI explained. "Cerberus uses them."

"Cerberus?" Ashley repeated, glancing at Shepard.

"Maybe they're the ones who hacked the security mechs." James said.

Shepard took the lead again, at least they could see now. Ashley was suspicious of Shepard, she kept glancing at him like she was watching a snake.

"Mechs didn't attack that generator." James stated suddenly. "They don't use crowbars."

"Someone on the inside must have done that." Ashley narrowed her eyes.

"Commander, I have entered the network." EDI announced. "The security mechs have been isolated and programmed to shoot any intruders on sight. I have detected a single heat signature inside the archives. Transmissions indicate that large amounts of date are being sent to an unknown location."

"Okay, that's not a VI you're talking to." James guessed.

"Long story." Shepard left it at that, he would explain later.

* * *

Following EDI's directions and some more encounters with mechs, they reached a lift in the central complex.

Shepard waited until everyone was inside then hit the button. The lift descended slowly.

"Shepard, why is Cerberus here?" Ashley asked.

"For the data, I guess." Shepard shrugged.

"Are you still working for them?"

Shepard turned and saw the angry look in her eyes. "Ash…"

"Don't play innocent!" She hissed. "You worked for them before destroying that Mass Relay. Are you working for them now?"

"I only worked with them to take down the Collectors." Shepard explained. "I cut ties with them after that."

"Shepard has been monitored since returning to the Sol system." James agreed. "His only transmissions have been to a Doctor T'Soni, not Cerberus."

That made sense; Ashley gave up and stared glumly at the wall.

The lift stopped suddenly.

"EDI?" Shepard asked.

"Someone is attempting to stall you. One moment." They waited in silence. "There is a virus in the system, it is keeping me out. Use the emergency hatch and climb down to the archives."

Shepard found the hatch and climbed onto the lift roof. Clambering down, he could reach out and grab the thick metal cables under the lift. The squad began to climb down.

It was still a long way down, at least ten floors.

Something clanked. Shepard looked up with a sense of dread and saw the lift moving again.

"Go!" He shouted. They needed to move faster, he'd seen this kind of thing in vids, surely it couldn't be difficult.

He loosened his grip and began to slide down the cable. James was whooping as she went down, the man was crazy.

Shepard could hear grinding as the lift chased them down.

"EDI!" He shouted. "Open the doors at the bottom!"

His boots hit the floor as EDI opened the doors. The squad leapt through them just as the lift crashed behind them.

"Ah hell!" James grimaced.

"Are you hurt?" Shepard asked.

"No, but I think my armour needs some more paint."

After dealing with more security mechs, they came closer to the archives. LOKI and ORCUS mechs weren't difficult to kill with some decent firepower. The M8 wasn't Shepard's weapon of choice, but it was still useful.

They reached a heavy alloy door, too thick to breach with explosives.

"It's encrypted." Shepard sighed. "Where's a bypass shunt program when you need one?"

"A what?" James asked.

"Never mind." Shepard shook his head. "EDI, we've got a heavily encrypted door here. When you're done with that virus, can you hack it?"

"The virus is gone." EDI stated. "I find it easy to neutralise Cerberus programs. Hold position, the hack will alert security mechs."

"You heard her." Shepard told his squad. "Defensive positions!"

The door panel began to flash when EDI hacked the system. An alarm began to blare.

"Incoming!" Ashley shouted as mechs began to appear.

The LOKI mechs were easier to kill than the ORCUS mechs, but they were still a pain.

"Running low on clips!" James yelled over the gunfire. He lobbed a grenade, the squad ducked as shrapnel whizzed past.

Something thudded, the sound of something large moving towards them.

Shepard had faced a few YMIR mechs, but he still hated to fight the damn things.

"Focus fire on the YMIR!" Shepard shouted. At least it was only one YMIR.

A bullet scraped his shoulder plate. Shepard ducked. The YMIR fired relentlessly. It was clomping forwards, intending to force the squad out of cover.

"James!" Shepard yelled. "Use a grenade!"

"I'm out!" James shouted back.

Shepard swore and ejected a spent thermal clip from his rifle. "Keep firing!"

The mech's shields were falling, that left Shepard with a crazy way to take it out quickly.

"Get down!" He shouted. He pulled out his pistol and aimed at the mech. He fired twice, blasting the mech's head apart.

Rapid beeping began as Shepard crouched down and covered his ears.

The mech's core blew up; a small mushroom shaped cloud erupted from the reactor.

The place shook and bits of burnt metal landed all over the place.

"Whoa!" James breathed.

"Any wounds?" Shepard looked up at his squad.

"I'm a little hard of hearing now." Ashley said loudly.

"EDI, please tell me you've hacked the door."

"The door is unlocked, Shepard." EDI said. "I decided not to distract you."

"Thanks." James muttered. "I think."

The doors boomed and slid open, the squad ran inside with their weapons raised.

The room had a large glass enclosure with what looked like a large Prothean beacon inside, only this was more complex.

There was a man standing in front of it, typing rapidly on a consol.

"Step away from the computer!" Ashley barked.

The man turned round with a pistol in his hand, he was shaking and sweating.

"Drop the gun." Shepard ordered.

"I don't have a choice!" The man quavered. "You'll kill me!"

"Professor Okadi?" James asked.

The man nodded.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ashley demanded.

"I can't tell you."

"Professor, I don't want to hurt you." Shepard stated. "But I can't help you unless you tell me what happened here."

"What do you think happened?" Okadi bawled. "The Reapers came and I had to send them the data! I needed the mechs to protect me."

"You sent the data to the Reapers?" Ashley gasped. "Shit!"

"No." Okadi shook his head. "Not the Reapers. Cerberus." He shivered. "He promised to help me, he gave me the mechs. But he refused to rescue me because I couldn't decrypt the data."

"You're talking about the Illusive Man."

"Yes."

An alarm began to blare again. An automated message called from the speakers.

"Warning; hostile forces detected. Evacuate." The VI declared. "Evacuate the facility."

"Cerberus?" James wondered aloud.

The holographic projector next to Okadi began to crackle, glowing red as something appeared.

Not the Illusive Man. Worse.

Harbinger.

"Shepard." It boomed. "You still live."

"Oh my God!" Okadi hid behind his computer, for all the good it would do.

"I'm not planning on dying." Shepard retorted. He stepped up to the computer and began to copy the data onto his omni-tool.

"Your death is inevitable. You cannot comprehend our glory."

"Sovereign said something like that." Shepard pointed out. "Sovereign is dead."

"You cannot destroy us all, Shepard." Harbinger declared. "We are legion. Our numbers will darken the skies of every world. We are your salvation through destruction."

Shepard finished copying the data. He deleted the computer files; he didn't want the Reapers to find them.

"You may have taken Earth," Shepard said. "But we will fight to the last and we _will _defeat you."

"The cycle cannot be broken." Harbinger growled. "We are infinite. We are your end. This exchange is over." The hologram faded.

Shepard heard something click and saw Okadi raise his gun.

"Drop the gun!" James yelled, firing a warning shot.

It wasn't Shepard that Okadi was aiming at though.

Shepard reached out, but he was too late. Okadi had already pulled the trigger and put a bullet through his own head.

"Son of a bitch!" James cursed.

The facility shook. The Reapers had arrived.

"Commander!" Ashley called. "We need to leave!"

Shepard ran after his squad as the shaking became more violent.

"EDI, we need a way out!" He shouted.

"There is an emergency passage that leads to the garage." EDI said calmly. "Use a vehicle to reach the _Normandy_."

"Got it." Shepard ran through the small doorway, it was a shame that it had been sealed before the attack. It would have made things much easier, but at least it was open now.

"We seem to be running more than fighting!" James shouted as he ran.

"You can't kill a Reaper with a rifle," Shepard shouted back. "We need bigger guns."

They followed the tight passages into the garage. Shepard barely processed climbing into the Tiger-Shark, he was running on adrenaline.

"Buckle up," he warned. "This is going to get rough."

He drove the tank out at full speed. The storm had hit the facility; it was hard to see where he was going. The HUD pointed him towards the hanger, it also highlighted hostiles through the storm.

"Reaper!" Ashley yelled.

A hovering tank had spotted them. Its cannons flashed red and projectiles shot past the Tiger-Shark.

Shepard aimed the cannon and put a round through the Reaper tank, blasting its front into pieces.

"Watch out for the fighters." James pointed.

Shepard aimed the missiles at them, waiting for them to lock on before firing. The fighters joined the tank, in bits, on the sandy ground.

"Commander," Joker radioed, "there's a Reaper knocking on our door. Hurry up!"

"Open the cargo bay." Shepard ordered. "We're coming in hot!"

The hanger doors opened and Shepard piloted the Tiger-Shark inside. The _Normandy's _cargo bay opened and the IFV shot inside.

"We're in," Shepard shouted. "Get us out of here!"

The cargo bay closed and the _Normandy _sped out of the hanger.

Reapers were attacking the archives, they obviously didn't care about the data and would rather see it eradicated. Typhical for them.

* * *

"Did you get what you were looking for?" Joker asked as Shepard walked into the cockpit.

"We got the data, but so did Cerberus." Shepard told him.

"Crap." Joker grimaced. "Anything else? You know that I love bad news."

"It's encrypted." Shepard added. "EDI can't get through the security."

"You've got to be kidding me." Joker shook his head.

"I cannot decrypt the data, it has Prothean security measures." EDI explained. "However, I know who can."

"Who?" Joker asked.

"Liara." Shepard guessed.

"Correct." EDI agreed.

"Joker, set a course for Hagalaz." Shepard instructed. "Make sure we're not followed."

It was going to be a long trip. It would give Hackett and Anderson time to reinstate him, but every minute wasted would cost hundreds of lives.

They needed the Council to support them, but they needed the data. Even a huge fleet could not destroy a fleet of Reapers.

They needed an edge.

More than that, they needed a way to end the Reaper threat once and for all.

* * *

_**I was annoyed at the lack of planet exploration. The Mako was cumbersome but it had a soul and tough shields. The Hammerhead was fun but flimsy. My thought was why not combine the best of both? Then I decided to create the M47 Tiger-Shark. **_

_**Since I've made one tank, which means that I'm making more, watch out for more stuff.**_

_**As for the puzzles, I was actually annoyed that they removed hacks and bypasses in ME3. Yes, it was easier without, but it's nice to have a challenge.**_


	3. Hades' dogs

"Commander, we have located Doctor T'Soni's ship." EDI stated. "It is under attack from Cerberus vessels."

"What?" Shepard practically bolted to the cockpit.

"There is an automated distress call," EDI continued. "It is being broadcast to the _Normandy_."

"Put it through." Shepard was even more desperate to find Liara now.

"Shepard, if you're out there then I need help." It was Liara speaking. "Cerberus has found me and they're attacking my ship. They want me alive, but I won't let them take me. I'm on Hagalaz, this message comes with updating coordinates. Please help me."

"I'm going in." Shepard stated. "Is the shuttle ready?"

"Yes." EDI confirmed. "I have located an airlock that is safe to use."

Shepard ran into the shuttle with James and Ashley in tow.

"All systems green." The shuttle pilot, a man called Cortez, announced. "Here we go."

The shuttle zoomed out of the cargo bay and into the stormy skies of Hagalaz. Shepard could see three Cerberus frigates following the Shadow Broker's ship.

Cortez could obviously see that Shepard was distressed and applied more speed.

The shuttle reached the airlock and the squad moved out.

"Cortez, return to the _Normandy_." Shepard instructed. "We'll call you when we need you."

"Roger that, Commander."

Shepard sealed the airlock and heard the shuttle leave.

"Cerberus is going to pay for this." Ashley growled.

"Agreed." Shepard nodded and moved forwards.

"Who are we shooting?" James hadn't seen Cerberus soldiers before.

"Anything in white and yellow armour." Shepard said.

"If it's blue, don't shoot." Ashley added.

They could hear gunfire, it sounded one-way. No-one was firing back.

"Pick up the pace." Shepard began to run. The gunfire was getting closer.

"ORCUS!" Ashley shouted. Two mechs rounded the corner and opened fire.

The squad mowed them down. These ORCUS mechs were not being covert; they had Harrier rifles and symbols. The Harrier was simply an automatic version of the Mattock heavy rifle; Cerberus seemed to like that gun.

Now they could hear more than gunfire. They could hear grating voices shouting.

"Drop the barrier, Doctor." A Cerberus officer was shouting. "Come with us and you won't be hurt."

"I'm not falling for that!" Shepard broke into a run when he heard Liara's voice.

"You can't keep the barrier up forever." The officer goaded. "Make this easy."

Shepard rounded the corner and shot the officer in the back. Ashley and James backed him up by killing the two troopers.

"Shepard!" Liara gasped, dropping her barrier. She had been using it for a while, she was exhausted.

"Liara!" Shepard was just as relieved. Liara threw her arms around him.

James just shrugged, Ashley checked the bodies for thermal clips.

"I heard about Earth." Liara let go of Shepard. "I'm so sorry."

"It was difficult to leave." Shepard told her.

"I thought you'd died." Liara had tears in her eyes. "They sentenced you to life imprisonment and then the Reapers attacked."

"I'm here now." He smiled. "Now we need to get you out of here."

Liara nodded. "I need to gather my equipment." She explained. "Some of this is too useful to leave behind."

"I can understand that." Shepard knew about the information Liara had at her disposal. "Ashley, call Cortez back here."

"On it, Commander." Ashley began to radio instructions.

"I hate to do this, but I need you to hold them off." Liara told Shepard. "I'm not taking much."

"It's okay, Liara." Shepard assured her. "We'll do what we can."

"I also need to bring the weapons online; we can't escape with those Cerberus ships following us." She was about to leave but stopped suddenly and passed a crate to Shepard. "Here, you'll like this."

Shepard opened the crate and found a rifle that looked similar to an Avenger, only it had thicker barrels, a precision scope and the words "N7" on the casing.

"It's an N7 Valkyrie, one of my agents found it on the black market." Liara explained.

"Thanks." Shepard loaded the weapon, taking cover and aiming through the scope. "You two ready?"

"Hell yes!" James whooped.

"Ready." Ashley took aim.

The doors ahead opened and ORCUS mechs clomped in.

"Weapons free!" Shepard opened fire. The Valkyrie was burst firing, his kind of gun. Headshots were easy with this rifle.

"They're sending in troopers." Liara radioed. "They don't have many, but they're elites."

Heavily armoured soldiers ran in with assault rifles and shotguns. They moved quickly and efficiently, enough to give a commando or even an N7 operative pause.

"Damn they're good!" James missed again.

Shepard shot one in the leg and finished him off with a headshot.

He saw a blue glow across his eyes and neck. Implants.

Reaper tech. No wonder they were so fast.

"Shepard, the equipment is on the shuttle." Liara radioed. "I'm bringing the defences online. Cerberus _will _notice and they'll send more soldiers."

"We're still holding then." James surmised.

A slot opened on the wall and a tray of thermal clips slid out.

"I was prepared for a fight." Liara added. "Cerberus caught me by surprise though. Help yourselves."

They took the clips and reloaded. They were still in for a tough fight.

"Here they come." Ashley murmured.

The squad opened fire as soon as Cerberus troopers appeared. Blood was splattered all over the corridor they were using.

"Shepard, you need to fall back!" Liara called urgently. "One of the frigates is firing!"

"Move!" Shepard ordered, covering his squad as they fell back. The doors sealed behind them.

The ship shook and Shepard heard an explosion. Cerberus had wanted Liara alive, but it looked like they were settling for dead now.

The ship shook again, but this time it was firing back.

"Got one." Liara radioed. "Two to go."

"We're holding outside the control room." Shepard told her. "Is there anything we can use?"

"Hold on." Another slot opened, this one had a flamethrower inside.

"She must be fun at parties." James remarked.

Shepard took the flamethrower and aimed at the doorway.

"There's a few machine guns around here somewhere." Liara added. "And rocket launchers."

James whistled.

"It never hurts to be prepared." The ship shuddered again. "There goes the second."

There was a colossal bang. Liara swore and alarms began to blare.

"What just happened?" Shepard asked.

"The last frigate has cluster missiles," Liara explained. "My cannons are gone."

"Call the _Normandy_." Shepard told her. "Joker can handle a frigate."

"Incoming!" Ashley shouted as Cerberus troops appeared.

Shepard stood up and unleashed a torrent of fire on them. The soldiers screamed as fire raged and burnt through their armour like wax.

"How do you like that?" James yelled. "Cerberus bastards!"

"Joker is attacking the frigate." Liara reported. "I'm deleting the data from my terminal."

"Make it quick." Shepard told her. "They're sending troops faster than we can kill them."

"I'm almost done."

The flamethrower beeped and clicked.

Shepard threw it aside and pulled out his Valkyrie. More Cerberus troops dropped.

James swore as he ran out clips. He switched to his shotgun and blasted any Cerberus soldier who came too close.

"Come on, Liara!" Ashley hissed. "Hurry up!"

"I'm done!" Liara radioed. "Come back to the control room, there's an emergency airlock in here."

"We're on our way." Shepard radioed. They had to move slowly though, stopping to cover each other.

The ship began to shake again.

"Joker, have you destroyed the frigate?" Shepard radioed as James covered him.

"Yes, but they just called in a cruiser." Joker explained. "We have to leave now!"

"That sounds bad." Ashley muttered, ejecting a spent thermal clip.

"Liara, there's a cruiser inbound." Shepard radioed.

"I know," Liara replied. "I can see…"

The ship shook again and Shepard heard what sounded like a cry over the radio.

"Liara?"

No response.

"Liara!"

No response.

"We need to move faster!"

"We'll cover you." Ashley said.

They hurried onwards, the squad covered Shepard as he led the way.

This part of the ship was on fire, the suppression systems had stopped working.

The cruiser had fired a round at the control centre. They had decided to destroy what they could not take.

If they had killed Liara…

Shepard tried not to think about it.

He finally reached the doors to the control centre. The doors were jammed.

Shepard stood back and barged them open. "Liara!" He called.

"Shepard." She was alive, wounded but alive. "Thank the Goddess!"

"I could say the same thing." Shepard smiled.

Ashley and James entered the room. "They're stalled." James stated. "We used some wreckage to block the passageway."

Liara winced. Shepard saw that she was holding her side. He could also see purple staining the area she was holding, blood.

"Where's this airlock?" Ashley asked. Liara pointed and Ashley gave Cortez the coordinates.

"We still need to get rid of that cruiser." Shepard pointed out. "Otherwise it'll follow us through the Mass Relay."

"I have an idea." Liara announced. "But it's crazy." Shepard nodded so she continued. "I can set this ship on a collision course with the cruiser."

"That is _crazy_." Ashley muttered. "Won't it just move out of the way?"

"This ship is faster than it looks." Liara shrugged.

"It's better than no plan." Shepard decided. "Let's do it."

Liara programmed the course in and ran to the shuttle with the others. It was going to be hectic.

"Here goes." Liara activated her omni-tool.

"Let's go, Cortez." Shepard ordered.

The shuttle detached. Liara's ship surged forwards despite its bulk and headed towards the Cerberus cruiser like a javelin.

The cruiser began to move, but it was too late. The larger ship smashed it in half and fell towards the storms below.

"Nice shot, T'Soni." Ashley remarked.

"Thanks." Liara sat down, still holding her side. "I guess you want my help in the fight against the Reapers."

"Sadly, yes." Shepard admitted. "We found Prothean data on Mars."

"I know that you'd find me for a social call, Reapers or not." She joked. She winced again, because of her wound. "Does your cipher still work?"

"Yes, but there's a lot I can't understand." Shepard explained. "It's encrypted with Prothean codes. As the new Shadow Broker and a Prothean expert, we thought that you could decrypt them."

"I see."

"We'd better see to that wound first." Shepard added. "Doctor Chakwas is back."

"Good."

"So is Joker."

Liara considered. "That could be good or bad."

* * *

Shepard waited until Doctor Chakwas had finished seeing to Liara's wounds. It was nothing serious and she was up and about quickly.

She arranged her quarters in old XO's office. When Shepard entered, one wall was covered in a galaxy map and there were computers and books around.

"Shepard," Liara smiled, "what can I do for you?"

"Here's the data." He handed her the OSD he had copied the data onto.

"I'll decrypt it as soon as a I can." She put it on her desk. She stepped closer to Shepard. "I know that this isn't as important, but…" she hesitated. "Are you still interested? In us?"

Shepard smiled. "Of course I am." He confirmed. "I want this to work."

"Good." Liara was visibly relieved. "I was worried. I want this to work too." She put her arms around Shepard. "I thought I'd never see you again, after your trial."

"I made you a promise, Liara." Shepard kissed her. "A life, marriage and lots of little blue children."

"I'm holding you to that." She smiled. "I'd like to talk again, once this data is decrypted. Duty calls, as humans say."

"Let me know when you find something."

* * *

Shepard headed to the com room. There was a call waiting.

A hologram appeared, it was Councillor Anderson.

"Shepard, you look like hell." He half smiled.

"It's good to see you, Anderson."

"I know about Earth." Anderson stopped smiling. "The Council isn't budging, but they're considering reinstating you."

"It's a start." Shepard nodded.

"I have some leads for you." Anderson tapped something and coordinates appeared. "I know that you'll need help. I tracked Garrus Vakarian to Illium. He made the Primarchs consider the Reaper threat and they gave him a mission. I don't know what he's doing on Illium though. Maybe the Primarchs wanted him out of the way for a while."

"Anything else?"

"Tali'Zorah'vas'Neema is leading a research unit on Xawin." Anderson continued. "They're looking for a weapon or something like that."

"I'll find them." Shepard said. "Thanks for the intel, Anderson."

"If there's anything else I can do to help, then all you have to do is ask." The hologram faded.

Shepard checked the next call.

He was surprised to see Sarah Hall. If Anderson thought that Shepard looked like hell, he hadn't seen Hall.

"Hey, Shepard." She managed to smile despite everything. "Took me a while to find a working link. Longer to make it safe."

"How are you doing?" Shepard asked.

"We're still alive." Hall folded her arms. "After you left, I gathered as many people as I could and used the subways to get out of London. We're trying to reach Europe. The bulk of the resistance is there. We've got a few soldiers, but most of these people have never held a gun before and we don't have that many guns anyway."

"I'm gathering support of my own." Shepard told her. "I'm afraid that the Council isn't going to help us yet."

"I didn't expect them to." Hall paused. "It's crazy. I'm going to Europe and... well, the Reapers are interested in Europe. They're currently decimating Russia."

"How bad?"

"Five hundred thousand dead within twenty four hours."

"That's brutal."

"You're telling me." Hall sighed. "The dead ones are lucky. They turn the prisoners into husks. Most of the people with me are rattled; they can't face the new husks, let alone the ones that were human. I keep telling them that killing the husks is merciful."

"You're right." Shepard concurred. "It is."

"Doesn't make it any easier though."

"Keep fighting, Sarah." Shepard encouraged. "Keep fighting for a tomorrow. We will save Earth."

"I can believe that from you. If we're going to die, we'll give them hell." She nodded. "Hall out."

The hologram faded.

Shepard returned to the galaxy map, he had two leads to follow.

Tali was on Xawin, Garrus was on Illium.

It was difficult to decide which one to take. Nevertheless, he set a course for Illium. Garrus was working on something, alone. It couldn't hurt to help.

* * *

_**Uncharted worlds and places from ME1 + 2 are returning in this story. Illium will feature some covert action and Xawin will have some exploration in the M47 Tiger-Shark. **_

_**Keep sending reviews and comments; I like the feedback I'm getting so far. **_


	4. Black ops

The _Normandy _passed through the relay without much trouble. Illium was in the Terminus Systems, meaning that Council law didn't govern it. But they would still attempt to arrest Shepard if the Council hadn't cleared his name.

Shepard just hoped they had. Illium wasn't quite lawless. As Miranda Lawson had put it: Illium was Omega with expensive shoes.

Shepard caught Joker listening to news reports about Earth. He was just as distressed, he was better at hiding it.

"I feel like we're running around when we should be fighting." Joker admitted.

"The Reapers cannot be defeated alone." EDI stated. "More than firepower is required."

"Yeah, I know." Joker said. "It still sucks, thanks for bringing it up."

The radio crackled. "_SSV Normandy_, you are to dock at Nos Astra terminal." It was docking control, they didn't sound happy. "A security detail will meet you there."

"That sounds bad." Joker muttered. "Should we leave?"

"Not without Garrus." Shepard told him. "Liara, do you still have contacts here?"

"Yes." Liara confirmed. "I was talking to one before we arrived. He thinks that he saw Garrus near the Eternity Bar."

"Good." Shepard stepped out of the airlock with her.

His welcoming committee was not unfamiliar but just as hostile. Shepard was almost used to having a gun in his face.

"Hands on your head!" An asari officer barked.

It wasn't a fight they could win. Six security mechs and a Paladin heavy pistol aimed at his head. Even Liara's biotics couldn't save them, three Shuriken burst pistols were aimed at her.

Shepard relented, Liara did the same.

"Your ship will be put into lockdown." The asari said, letting the mechs handcuff Shepard and Liara. "You have the right to silence; anything you say can be used against you."

The officer let the mechs lead them away at gunpoint.

"I thought they'd reinstated you." Liara whispered.

"Not here, I guess." Shepard whispered back.

"No talking." One of the mechs whirred.

"What happened to free speech?" Shepard asked.

"No talking." Evidently that was all the mech was going to say.

"I could use a singularity." Liara suggested.

"We're in public." Shepard pointed out. "The mechs would shoot us anyway."

They were led to a police car with a turian pilot.

"I'll take it from here." The turian told the mechs. Liara and Shepard were left on the backseats, still handcuffed.

"This will be the fourth time I've been in prison." Shepard muttered.

"This will be my first." Liara said.

Shepard hated to think what a prison community back on Earth would think of an asari prisoner. Then again, they'd find out what a singularity was very quickly.

"When was the first?" Liara asked. "Sorry, I'm just curious."

"Earth, back when I ran with the Tenth Street Reds." Shepard didn't mind. "I stole a gun."

"What next?"

"Technically I wasn't thrown into a prison." Shepard said. The turian didn't seem to be paying attention. "That was when I went to the Bahak system." He explained. "The third was after that."

"I see." Liara nodded.

"You might want to add that to your memoirs." The turian said suddenly. "Don't worry; hopefully there won't be a fourth time."

Shepard frowned. Why was the turian suddenly interested?

The pilot removed his helmet and turned to face them with a big grin.

"Garrus!" Liara exclaimed.

"Once a cop, always a cop as they say." Garrus laughed. "I heard that you were coming and that you were under arrest. Stealing a car was easier than I thought. They even left a helmet on the backseat."

"It's good to see you, Garrus." Shepard said.

"Yeah, especially since I just saved you from prison." Garrus nodded. "I'm taking you to my safe-house. I need to ditch this car before they trace it though."

Garrus left the car outside a club; they walked the rest of the way after Garrus unlocked their handcuffs.

Garrus had taken a room in an abandoned hotel. He'd made an impression; it looked like a sniper's paradise. There were two rifles on the table, a tracking device and lots of viewpoints.

"Make yourselves at home." Garrus told them. "It's not great, but no-one comes here. Not after I scared the junkies off anyway."

"How did you do that?" Liara asked. "Did you shoot them?"

"No actually." Garrus replied. "It's funny watching them run from a targeting laser; they thought I was a police sniper." He activated the tracking device. A hologram flickered next to it and showed red trails throughout Nos Astra. "I'd better explain what I'm doing here. I kept telling Palaven's leadership that the Reapers were a threat; they decided to consider it and sent me here. Probably because I irritated them." He shrugged. "Anyway, two days ago a transport from Thessia blew up with no survivors."

"Sabotage?" Liara guessed.

"That transport was carrying one hundred asari soldiers and weapons to an outpost on Menae. Palaven did take my warnings seriously. Not long after that, a transport carrying tanks from Palaven was intercepted and shot down by unidentified frigates; they had stealth systems similar to the _Normandy's_."

"What does Illium have to do with this?" Shepard asked.

"I was meant to be out of the way." Garrus said. "But I picked up some suspicious transmissions; two of them had the coordinates of those transports. I marked some suspects with trackers, as you can see from the map."

"Do you need any help?"

"Yes, actually." Garrus tapped a few buttons on his computer. "I need a sniper and someone to follow these guys." He pointed at another map. "Here's where they tend to meet, an old factory complex. Liara can track them; you and I will provide sniper support once she confirms that they're bad guys."

"How can I be sure?" Liara asked.

"Listen in on them." Garrus explained. "See if they're carrying weapons or bombs." Garrus gestured at the table. "Mantis or Viper? Take your pick."

Shepard took the Viper. Garrus still had his own Mantis sniper equipped. He gave Shepard and Liara some silencers, placing a third on his Mantis.

"These'll interest you." He showed them some discs. "Load these onto your omni-tools; it gives them a melee weapon. It's better than punching people."

Shepard and Liara loaded the discs onto their omni-tools. Shepard activated his. A short flash of red shaped like a blade came into being.

"Nice." He raised his eyebrows. "These will be useful."

"Right," Garrus brought up more details on the map. "This is what we'll do…"

* * *

"Doc's in position." Garrus radioed.

"Who came up with these codenames?" Liara whispered.

"I did." Garrus admitted. "Better safe than sorry, as humans say."

"This is Spectre," Shepard radioed. "I'm in position."

"Archangel in position." Garrus stated. "Doc, head left. Stay in the shadows."

Shepard watched Liara move through his scope. It was getting dark; Shepard flicked a switch and turned the scope's night vision setting on.

"Hold up, there's a guard approaching." Shepard warned her. "Go right, hide behind the workshop."

Liara slipped into the shadows as an armoured soldier appeared.

"Heavy armour." Garrus murmured. "Load armour piercing rounds."

"That's a Cerberus trooper." Shepard told him.

"They hate you now?"

"They attacked us yesterday." Shepard explained. "They must be sabotaging the transports for some reason, probably to gain an advantage."

"Hmm." Garrus was concentrating. Shepard guessed that he was lining up a perfect headshot. In the N7 program, Shepard had been taught to aim for the torso as it was easier to hit.

He could still pull off a headshot, but he had to admit that Garrus was the better sniper.

"Well, we can shoot them now." Garrus said. "Firing."

The Cerberus trooper toppled with a hole in his head. Liara dragged the body aside.

"Move up, Doc." Garrus instructed.

Liara kept her Tempest SMG raised, just in case there were more Cerberus troops ahead.

"Wait." Shepard told her. "Trooper ahead, I have a clear shot." The Viper jolted against his shoulder. A bullet went through the trooper's heart.

"Good eye." Garrus said.

Liara moved ahead, finally stopping near the office block. "Your spies are here."

"Record them." Garrus told her.

Liara activated her omni-tool and crouched under the window. Shepard listened carefully.

"…Man approves." One of them was saying. "Without those troops, Palaven and Thessia will be vulnerable to the Reapers."

"How does this benefit Cerberus?" Another one asked.

"The Illusive Man gave us orders," a third stated. "It is not our place to question him."

"Has he decrypted the data?"

"No." The first one answered. "They were unable to capture the asari. Shepard is on the loose."

"Have our sentries reported in?"

"Uh oh." Garrus muttered.

"Negative."

"We're blown."

"But…"

"Burn it."

"Doc, fall back." Garrus radioed.

Liara moved away from the offices and hid behind the nearest wall.

"There are at least seven troopers heading my way." She reported. "I could use some covering fire."

"I haven't got a clear shot." Garrus said.

"Neither have I." Shepard put his sniper away. "I'm repelling down." Shepard attached a grapple to the railing. He abseiled down the wall and onto the ground, prepping his Valkyrie and moving to Liara's position.

He reached her before Cerberus got close.

He heard the clanking of armoured boots behind the low wall. Liara held up two fingers and made a sign with her other hand.

Shepard activated his omni-blade, reached over the wall and pulled the trooper over, stabbing him with the blade. Liara copied his example.

"Stay down." Garrus told them. "I've moved. I can see five more."

"There's too many." Shepard whispered. "They're going to get rid of their data, we need to move."

"Okay." Garrus acknowledged. "Go loud."

Shepard leant round the wall and shot the nearest Cerberus trooper. Liara loosed a singularity and left two of them helpless in the air. Garrus picked them off.

"Intruders!" One of the soldiers yelled just before some bullets sent him sprawling.

"Three men are running out of a side exit." Garrus reported. "I'm going to intercept them."

Liara mowed down the last trooper with her SMG. "We're clear!"

Shepard moved towards the office block.

The explosion was loud enough to make his ears ring. One moment he was on his feet, the next he was on his back with flaming wreckage all over the place.

"Shepard!" Liara ran over.

"I'm okay." Shepard staggered to his feet. "Garrus, they blew up the building."

"I know, so does most of Illium now." Garrus remarked. "I'm bringing the car round. Our Cerberus friends are fleeing."

The car landed in the yard. Garrus took off as soon as Shepard and Liara were inside.

"I'd better stick to the speed limit." Garrus muttered. "We've caused enough trouble."

He was following directions from the tracking device on the dashboard.

"We need to question those spies." Shepard stated. "They mentioned the Prothean data."

"What data?" Garrus asked without taking eyes away from the windscreen.

"We found some Prothean data on Mars." Shepard explained. "So did Cerberus."

"And they can't decrypt it?"

"They tried to capture me for that." Liara told him.

"Things really do explode around you, Shepard." Garrus remarked. "They're turning into a docking bay, looks like they're getting ready to run."

"Does this thing have any weapons?" Shepard asked.

"We've done that before." Liara murmured. "It's a car."

"Under the backseats." Garrus gestured.

Shepard reached under the backseats, keeping an eye on the tracker.

"That's my leg, Shepard." Liara stated.

"Sorry." Shepard found something that wasn't a leg and pulled it out. It was an ML-77 missile launcher. "Where did you get this from?"

"I _borrowed _it." Garrus meant _stolen_. "From some Blue Suns mercenaries."

"This will stop a ship?"

"It's a small hanger; they're using a small ship." He piloted the car up to the entrance. "Yeah, it's a shuttle. Hit it."

Shepard half opened the door and fired a missile. The Kodiak shuttle was no match against the missile and was blown in half. Garrus piloted the car into the hanger and set it down.

The spies were still alive, dazed by the explosion. Garrus grabbed a Vindicator hidden under his seat and ran out with it aimed at the Cerberus operatives.

"Don't even try it!" Garrus snapped. One of the operatives had been reaching for a gun. "Shepard, do your thing."

Shepard kept his rifle aimed at the operatives. "Why is Cerberus here?" He demanded.

"Why did you betray us?" One of the operatives retorted.

"You destroyed two transports, why?" Shepard didn't take the bait.

"We were ordered to." The operative spat. "That's why."

"Cerberus only told them what they needed to know." Liara surmised. "Smart, but unfortunate for us."

"We won't tell you anything." The man glared at them fiercely.

There was a sudden flash of light and a sharp crack.

"What the hell was that?" Garrus shouted.

Shepard's sight began to return, the ringing sound faded.

The operatives were still there, minus their eyes and bits of their heads.

"Ocular flash-bangs." Shepard muttered. "They're dead."

"They were fanatics." Garrus shook his head. "The Illusive Man does this to his own people?"

"And worse." Shepard told him. "Their troops are implanted with Reaper tech."

"Nothing good can come out of that." Garrus crouched down and checked the operatives' pockets. "Hmm, they won't tell us anything? But this might." He produced a datapad. "They always forget something."

"Nice one, Garrus."

"Just doing my job." Garrus shrugged. "Speaking of which, I'd rather be on the _Normandy_ than here on Illium."

"That's why I came here." Shepard said. "I need the best and some good friends."

"I think I qualify for both." Garrus laughed. "Come on. Let's get out of here before the police arrive."

* * *

Garrus set up a link to Anderson in his safe-house. It didn't take him long to secure it.

"Shepard, it's good to see you in one piece." Anderson nodded. "I've heard about some trouble on Illium."

"Cerberus was here." Shepard said. "I'm about to leave, but I need to be cleared first."

"I thought they'd already done that." Anderson grimaced. "I'll make the Council do it. You can't save the galaxy if they all think you're a criminal."

"I can get us off Illium." Garrus announced. "But I can't do much about the rest of the galaxy."

"Like I said, I'll get the Council to clear your name." Anderson continued. "You shouldn't have any problems with the authorities when you reach Xawin. I'll do what I can. Good luck, Shepard."

The link shut down, leaving them in silence for a few moments.

"Garrus, how are you going to get us off Illium?" Shepard asked.

"Easily." Garrus smirked. "I'll need Liara's help though. I can hack into the security systems and allow the_ Normandy _to leave. We'll have to move quickly though."

"It's better than being stuck here." Shepard decided. "We'll use the car to the reach the _Normandy_."

* * *

The ship was still impounded when the plain sky-car landed nearby. If the officers had bothered to inspect it, they would have noticed that the turian driver had two passengers.

"Two guards." Garrus murmured. "Mag-clamps on the ship are locked down."

"Let's do it." Shepard nodded.

Liara activated her omni-tool and sent an order to the officers, telling them to cancel the lockdown.

The officers glanced at their omni-tools. One of them activated a computer and cancelled the lockdown. After that, they just left, thinking that their job was done.

"We even avoided knocking them out." Garrus commented.

They left the car. Garrus set its autopilot for the scrapyard, and followed Shepard and Liara onto the _Normandy_.

Joker was surprised to see them, from the looks of it he'd been sleeping in his pilot's chair.

"I thought you'd been imprisoned." He yawned. "Ashley was planning to spring you."

"The lockdown's cancelled," Shepard told him. "Get us out of here."

Joker activated the controls and the _Normandy _sped away from Nos Astra.

By the time the authorities discovered the ruse, the _Normandy _was gone and on its way to Xawin.

* * *

Garrus set up his space in the main battery. When Shepard took a look inside, Garrus had already set up a workbench, a rack for his rifles and computers for calibrating the _Normandy's _Thanix cannons.

"You remembered my favourite hangout then." Garrus said. "I'm pretty sure that someone messed up the calibrations." He typed some instructions into his computer. "Still, it's good to be back."

"Just like old times?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah, might be the last time we get to say that though." Garrus shrugged. "We're rushing into a suicidal fight, against a powerful enemy, with mad friends joining us and it's a race against time. So yeah, just like old times."

"You said that Palaven was considering the Reaper threat."

"After you surrendered to the Alliance, I went back to Palaven." Garrus explained. "I told my father everything and he believed me. He has some influence within our leadership and made them at least consider the Reapers as a possible threat. They're fortifying Palaven and other turian worlds, but they still wanted me to shut up." He checked his sniper rifle. "They were like the Council; they didn't want to believe that the Reapers were real."

"Who would?" Shepard understood why they had done that. "A race of sentient machines coming to exterminate life is terrifying."

"That didn't stop you." Garrus stated.

"It didn't stop us." Shepard agreed. "There's a difference between denying the truth and doing something about it."

"Exactly." Garrus nodded. "Who knows? Once we kick the Reapers back into whatever black hole they crawled out of, they'll probably beg you for forgiveness." He laughed. "Anyway, I'd better get back to work. You'd better get back to saving the galaxy. I'll be here if you want to talk."

* * *

Liara called Shepard into her office as he walked to the lift, she'd found something.

"I managed to get through some of the encryption." She explained. "It's good news for once."

"I'm all ears." Shepard said. Liara frowned, trying to see any extra ears. "It's a figure of speech." He explained, Liara was still a little inexperienced when it came to human humour.

She smiled, understanding the expression now. "If you say so." She showed him the data. "The Protheans managed to capture and study a live Reaper." She told him. "They found a weakness, but from what I can gather, it was too late."

"What is this weakness?"

"I don't know." Liara answered. "It's got something to do with their communications, but that's all I could find. This was very important, every single file is protected."

"Reapers wouldn't bother with this information." Shepard frowned. "They'd just destroy it."

"Maybe the Protheans weren't hiding it from the Reapers." Liara suggested. "Some Protheans were indoctrinated."

"Could this data help us to persuade the Council?"

"I'm not sure. We need more, something tangible."

"We've got time." Shepard assured her. "We still need to find Tali on Xawin."

"Don't get arrested this time."

* * *

The _Normandy _arrived in the system, heading towards the snow covered world of Xawin.

Everything seemed to be fine, until EDI scanned the system.

"Jeff, there is a Reaper above Xawin."

"Oh crap!" Joker checked that the stealth systems were on. "Commander, we've got a small… actually it's a massive problem."

"What kind of problem?" Shepard asked over the intercom.

"A Reaper." Joker explained. "Sovereign class. It's hanging around over Xawin."

Shepard hurried into the cockpit. He saw the Reaper above Xawin.

"The Reaper is either waiting for us, or it is aware of Tali'Zorah's mission." EDI stated.

"We can't engage it." Shepard muttered. "Joker, can you avoid it?"

"I could drop you off, but you'll have a long way to go." Joker answered.

"We'll use the Tiger-Shark." Shepard turned the intercom on. "Garrus, James, meet me in the cargo bay. We're dropping in ten minutes."

"Good hunting, Commander." Joker called as Shepard left.

This was going to be interesting.


	5. Cold blooded

"I hope this tin can doesn't crash." James muttered.

"It's like landing in a Mako or Hammerhead." Shepard assured him.

"Oh." Garrus grabbed hold of his seat.

"Descent commencing." The M47's computer announced. "In three… two… one."

The tank dropped. Garrus yelled something incomprehensible. James whooped.

The landing jets activated and the IFV slowed down. The engines activated and it began to hover.

"It's still crazy." Garrus shook his head.

"That was awesome!" James grinned.

"EDI, any sign of Tali?" Shepard asked.

"I have located a quarian shuttle on the surface." EDI answered. "I have also confirmed that a quarian ship was shot down by the Reaper.

"We need to move quickly then." Garrus surmised.

"Coordinates received." The Tiger-Shark's computer announced.

Shepard followed the directions into a wide valley. The snow was making it difficult to see, but once again the highlighting system compensated for the bad weather.

"Hey, can you see that?" James pointed up at one of the mountains.

"It's a crashed ship." Garrus took a look. "Quarian."

"Can we get up there?"

"Well, this tank apparently has traits from the Mako." Shepard aligned the Mass Effect fields. "Let's find out."

Shepard eased the Tiger-Shark towards the slope. As expected, it began to climb. It couldn't climb very steep surfaces, but it could still climb.

"Don't let back on the throttle." Garrus advised. "If you do we'll make a mess of the tank."

"And us." James added unhelpfully.

The climb was becoming difficult, the engines were straining. Shepard boosted them and the tank surged up onto a ledge.

"Maybe we should use ropes next time?" Garrus suggested.

"Where's the fun in that?" James remarked.

Shepard parked the Tiger-Shark next to the crashed ship. It had made a mess; wreckage was strewn around the crash site. The fires had gone out in the extreme cold.

"Helmets." Shepard instructed, putting his own on and sealing it.

They stepped outside, into the snow. Despite their armour, it was still cold.

"Come on, Garrus." Shepard called.

"Turians don't like the cold." Garrus said.

"I know, neither do humans."

Garrus sighed and followed them outside.

"Look at the midsection." James pointed. "I'm no expert, but I think a Reaper did that."

A long black scorch mark had been made. The weapon had nearly cut the ship in half. James was right; it was from a Reaper weapon.

"Shepard, we've got casualties." Garrus waved him over. There was a dead quarian in the snow, his suit was burnt and his mask had been shattered. There were also projectile wounds. Reaper troops didn't use bullets, they used jagged pieces of metal.

"Someone came here to finish them off." James guessed.

"Possibly." Shepard approached the airlock and prised it open, with effort. "Come on."

It was difficult to walk inside the ship; it was almost on its side. It was creaking, as if it was going to tip at any second.

"Move slowly and carefully." Shepard told them. He turned on his flashlight.

"Hard to believe that anyone could survive a crash like this." Garrus muttered.

The ship creaked violently and lurched. Shepard hit the wall, or floor, it was difficult to tell.

"It's tipping!" James shouted the obvious. "We might need to rethink this."

The ship listed even more.

"Grab something!" Shepard yelled.

The ship finally tipped, hitting the ground and kicking up snow and rock.

Shepard groaned and stood up, standing on the wall now. "Are you two alright?"

"Yeah." James confirmed.

"I'm intact." Garrus winced. "I think."

Now that the ship was mostly stable, they carried on. They were heading for the bridge, hoping to find out what the quarians were doing on Xawin.

"More bodies." James announced. "Looks like they died in the crash."

They arrived in what was left of the bridge. Everything was smashed, but hopefully the flight recorder was still intact.

Shepard used his omni-blade to prise the cover off the recorder; he loaded the recording onto his omni-tool.

The recorder had been damaged, the data was garbled.

"…Entered the system, we've been ordered to hold position over Xawin." The transmission began and broke again. "…Board won't tell us what they… We've detected an unknown vessel. It's massive, bigger than any dreadnaught on record." The recording broke into static again. "Mayday! Mayday! This is the _Lyrisa_. We have been attacked by an unknown enemy. We are approaching Xawin. If anyone…" The recording ceased.

"We're still no closer to finding Tali." Garrus muttered.

"I think we are." James disagreed. "This radio's getting a signal."

The radio crackled. "Message begins: This is Tali'Zorah'vas'Neema, we are stranded on Xawin. If anyone receives this message, we are five clicks north of the _Lyrisa's _crash site. Be advised: Reaper ground forces are present. This message will repeat. Message ends."

"Five clicks?" James repeated.

"Good thing we've got that tank." Garrus shrugged.

* * *

The weather was making things harder, but they were on course. EDI couldn't find the quarians, but she had found a spot where someone was jamming radar.

Hopefully it was Tali.

"Structures ahead." Garrus announced. "Looks like a base camp."

"Prep the weapons." Shepard instructed. "Just in case."

The tank approached the wall of the camp. The wall was actually an improvised barricade, made from wreckage.

The highlighter detected something and showed a yellow aura around it, marking it as unknown or neutral.

The computer adjusted and marked it as green, a friendly.

"Who's in there?" The quarian shouted, pointing her shotgun at the screen.

Garrus opened the hatch and poked his head out. "Is that you, Tali?"

"Garrus?" Tali lowered her weapon. "I'm glad to see you. Is Shepard in there too?"

"Yeah."

"Reegar," Tali called, "let them in."

Part of the barricade was moved aside and Shepard piloted the Tiger-Shark inside.

Tali met them outside the tank. "Why is it that whenever we meet, it's when one of us is in trouble?" She asked.

"We found your ship." Shepard told her. "I'm sorry, they didn't make it."

Tali sighed. "It was too much to hope for. We saw the crash from here."

"What exactly are you doing here anyway?" Garrus asked.

"One of our scouts picked up some strange energy signatures on this planet." Tali explained. "They thought it was a geth device and sent me along with the research team. We landed, then that Reaper showed up and shot the _Lyrisa _down. We're stuck here, unless the _Normandy _can pick us up." Tali paused. "Sorry I couldn't speak at your trial. I was about to, but the link failed."

"It's okay, Tali." Shepard told her.

"I knew you'd say that." Tali shrugged. "We've held out against some husks, lost two marines and we're lacking in firepower. Most of these people are scientists, not soldiers."

"We've got this tank." James gestured at the IFV.

"We're going to need it." Kal'Reegar called down from the barricade. "More of them are coming, with tanks."

"That tank had better be as impressive as it looks." Tali shouted as she ran onto the barricade.

"We'll try to keep them away." Shepard told her, entering the tank. "Open the barricade."

Two quarians cleared the way and Shepard drove the Tiger-Shark out in front of the camp.

The computer highlighted husks and Cannibals approaching.

Shepard switched to the machine guns and waited for the crosshair to turn red. The machine guns made short work of the husks, mincing them in seconds.

"Some of them look like turians." James announced. He was right; these news husks seemed to be smarter than the others. They carried a rifle of some kind, bonded to their arms.

Reaper tanks were also arriving. The quarians had some missile launchers, but they were relying on the Tiger-Shark.

Shepard switched to the cannon and blew a Reaper tank to pieces. They were firing back, the M47 was living up to expectations; its shields were as good as a Mako's.

"More husks," Garrus warned. "Are they elcor?"

He was right, Shepard could see them lumbering towards the camp. They had two heavy cannons on each shoulder; the Reapers had turned them into walking tanks or mobile artillery of some sort.

Shepard adjusted the engines and started to weave from side to side, avoiding the incoming fire.

The elcor husks' cannons weren't as powerful as the Reaper tank guns, but they had a larger area of effect, they were made for killing infantry instead of vehicles.

"They're not letting up." James noted. "This is a fight to the death."

"Reapers don't retreat." Garrus told him. "They _always_ fight to the death."

Shepard used the cannon to hit the heavier units; he used the machine guns to wipe out the weaker husks.

"They're weakening!" Tali radioed. "Keep it up."

A few more cannon rounds and the Reaper ground forces were history.

"That's what I'm talking about!" James whooped.

"Shepard, we're opening the barricade." Tali radioed. "Come back inside."

* * *

Shepard parked the Tiger-Shark inside the camp. Most of the quarians had survived the assault, only two had been killed and one was injured.

"You haven't lost your touch, Shepard." Tali stated.

Garrus cleared his throat.

"Neither have you, Garrus." Tali added. Garrus grinned in respsonse.

"Here's what I don't get," James said. "If the Reapers want us dead, why don't they just send in that big one and waste this place?"

"Maybe it has other plans?" Garrus suggested. "I don't want to find out what those plans are though."

"Have you found what you came for?" Shepard asked Tali.

"Hmm… I think so." Tali activated her omni-tool and showed a holographic map. It showed a route leading away from the camp and towards some hills. A blue pulse emanated from the hills. "This is what we're after. We'll never reach it in time though and I don't want to leave these people behind."

"The _Normandy _can pick them up." Shepard told her. "We can use the tank to travel."

"That should work." Tali agreed. "But this tank had better be more spacious than the Hammerhead."

"Don't worry, it is." Garrus assured her. "I'll call the _Normandy_."

* * *

It didn't take the shuttles long to arrive. As the quarians were evacuated, Tali joined Shepard and his team inside the Tiger-Shark.

"It is better in here." She murmured.

"Tell the Alliance that." James said. "This is only a prototype. They'd love some feedback."

"So was the Hammerhead." She pointed out. "Now that's mass produced too."

Shepard followed the route on Tali's map. He was dubious about what they might find.

It was enough to provoke a Reaper attack.

Still; nothing ventured, nothing gained.

"We're two clicks away." Shepard informed them.

After a few more minutes, Shepard could see the hills on Tali's map. They were almost on top of the energy source.

"Tali, Garrus, you're with me." Shepard told them. "James, stay here and guard the tank."

"If you say so." James nodded.

Shepard left with Garrus and Tali behind him. The energy source was obviously underground. He could see some sort of entrance, a bunker perhaps, buried in the snow.

It wasn't secured, just obscured.

The entrance led into a descending passageway, lined with green lights that flickered intermittently.

"This place still has power." Tali murmured. "That's surprising."

"This looks familiar." Shepard said quietly. "I think it's Prothean."

"Are you sure?" Garrus asked. "It doesn't look like the structures on Ilos."

"According to Liara, Prothean architecture became simpler towards the end of their cycle."

"That makes sense." Garrus nodded. "If my race was about to be wiped out, I'd stop giving a damn about good looks."

"Really?" Tali inquired.

"With exceptions." Garrus added.

"Put your tongue back in, Vakarian." Tali teased. "We've got a job to do."

Shepard turned on his flashlight, the lighting wasn't helping.

His light illuminated something that was pale yellow. Bones.

"Ugh…" Tali sounded like she was grimacing. "No survivors here either."

"I've not seen many skeletons," Garrus said. "But I've never seen one like that."

"I think it's a Prothean." Shepard stated.

"Liara's notes?"

"Guesswork." Shepard answered. "And it resembles a Collector."

"At least we blew the Collectors up." Garrus shrugged. "Along with their station."

"I was set on fire." Tali added casually.

They carried on, walking into the darkness.

"James," Shepard radioed. "Are you still there?"

"Yeah." James replied. "All quiet up here, Commander."

"Stay put, we'll be back soon."

"I'm not going anywhere." James muttered. "Did you know that the computer in this thing connects to the extranet? I've got _Red Sand _to watch."

"Don't forget to keep an eye out for hostiles." Shepard reminded him.

Their steps and voices were echoing in the corridors now. They were still moving in a straight line, it looked like the Protheans had abandoned complexity too.

"Light at the end." Garrus saw it first. "Ashley told me that humans see a light at the end of a tunnel when they die."

Shepard could see a blue glow ahead. That had to be what the quarians had detected.

"_Keelah!"_ Tali gasped. "It's huge!"

Huge was correct. It was contained in some sort of transparent material, connected to wires and tubes. There was blue light inside the sphere, although it moved like water.

"What is this?" Garrus murmured.

"Something that can't be left for the Reapers." Shepard answered. "Joker, do you read me?"

"Loud and clear, Commander." Joker responded.

"We've found something, not sure what it is." Shepard radioed. "Whatever it is, I'm not willing to let the Reapers take it."

"The _Normandy _doesn't do kamikaze runs, Commander."

"Call Admiral Hackett." Shepard told him. "The Fifth Fleet can handle one Reaper."

"Right. What was that?" Joker was talking to somebody else. "EDI has an idea, I'll tell Hackett."

* * *

The Reaper detected the three cruisers and a dreadnaught entering the system. It wasn't outmatched yet.

Joker and EDI had a plan though. Joker had discovered some new toys on Mars.

As the Reaper concentrated on the bigger ships, the _Normandy _flew behind it and fired two missiles.

Normally, missiles would just annoy a Reaper. But these ones hit its shields, which began to crackle with energy and overloaded. The Reaper paused, stunned and drifting.

The _Normandy _had just fired EMP missiles at it. It was strange that no-one had thought of using such weapons against a Reaper before.

Hackett's ships began to fire at the weakened Reaper. Without its shields, it was doomed.

The heavy guns of the cruisers and the dreadnaught blasted it into pieces. The explosion from its Mass Effect core was violent; a red flash erupted from the broken Reaper It could be seen from the planet below.

"Commander, the Reaper's down." Joker reported happily. "EDI was right; EMP weapons ruin their day. Hackett's sending in shuttles to retrieve whatever you've found."

"Tell him to send a heavy lifter instead." Shepard warned. "This is too big for a shuttle."

* * *

It took the lifter's crew two hours to cut a path down to the device, another hour for the lifter to remove it.

The Reapers had wanted to keep them away from it, which meant that it was worth studying.

Tali willingly joined Shepard's team again. The quarians were wary of the device and decided that the Alliance should study it.

Hackett called Shepard to discuss the device, which was now sitting in a lab on a Council world.

"Shepard, the device you've retrieved appears to be an element zero core, only much more advanced than any we have." Hackett explained. "We're not sure why the Protheans had it secured inside that bunker, or even if they built it. All we can determine is that it's _very_ powerful."

"How is the Fifth Fleet?" Shepard asked.

"We lost a lot of ships when the Reapers hit Earth." Hackett stated. "Our losses include the _London, _the _Moscow _and the _Annapurna_. We're trying to repair our ships somewhere quiet, but it's slow work." He said. "Anderson has some more leads for you. I'll let you get back to work. Hackett out."

The hologram faded and was replaced by Anderson.

"Shepard, I have good news." He announced. "The Council has cleared your name, you've been reinstated."

"Good." Shepard acknowledged. "At least I won't be arrested any time soon."

"I also managed to find one of your friends, one from that suicide mission." Anderson continued. "Urdnot Grunt has been sent to a jungle world near the krogan DMZ; they've sighted unknown hostiles there. I'll send you the coordinates."

"Anything else?"

"There's something strange happening on Eden Prime." Anderson said. "I'm still checking that lead. Be careful, Shepard. We can't win this without you. Anderson out."

* * *

Tali had once again decided to hang around in the engineering section. Engineer Adams was happy to see her, partly because she knew more about the engines and drive core than he did.

"I shouldn't have been surprised to see you on Xawin." Tali shrugged. "Nothing's impossible when you're around."

"What about this fight against the Reapers?" Shepard asked.

"Please, Shepard!" Tali laughed. "You defeated Saren, destroyed the Collectors and their proto-Reaper. If the Reapers fear anyone, it's you."

"I've given them plenty of reason."

"That was just a short list." Tali said. "There's probably more. It's good to be back, by the way."

"They kept the cyclonic barriers." Shepard told her. "In fact the Alliance is considering installing them on more ships." He paused. "What about the geth? Are the quarians still fighting them?"

"Yes and no." Tali answered. "Some of them want to reclaim the homeworld and others want to make peace with the geth. After talking to Legion, I think that peace is a better idea. Since we also re-wrote those geth heretics, their fleet is much stronger."

"I see." Shepard wondered if he had almost started another war. "I'll talk to you later, Tali."

"Right." She nodded. "Oh, and tell Garrus that I'm down here if he want to chat."

* * *

**_Just so you know: _Red Sand _is a fan-made film set before the first _Mass Effect_ game, it has Mark Meer (the voice actor for Shepard) as Jon Grissom._**

**_Also, the elcor husks (called Conquerors) are replacing the rachni husks. They fufil the same purpose, it makes more sense than the Reapers hunting down the fairly rare and elusive rachni just to make one or two artillery units. The mission on Uttuku is also too similar to _Alien_, the rachni husks even seem to have acid for blood._**

**_Be sure to send reviews, I appreicate the feedback I've been getting._**


	6. Ammo is lucky

_**Note: I made Tannosc up, it's a new planet.**_

_**Sorry I took a while to upload this, I've been busy. This isn't the only thing I'm working on.**_

* * *

"We're approaching Tannosc." Joker called from the cockpit. "There's a krogan ship in orbit. It's from Clan Urdnot, they're letting us pass."

"The terrain of Tannosc is hostile." EDI warned as Shepard boarded the shuttle with Liara and James. "High temperatures, torrential rainfall, thunderstorms and aggressive creatures are the most common hazards."

"Rain's not going to hurt us." James scoffed.

"The area where you are landing is likely to be flooded." EDI explained. "Many of Tannosc's predators are aquatic."

"On second thoughts…" James checked his rifle.

"The krogan scouts are waiting for you." EDI continued. "Urdnot Grunt has taken a team further into the jungle."

"Anything else?" Shepard asked.

"The krogan believe that they are facing turian soldiers." EDI answered. "Urdnot Wrex does not want a conflict, but if turians are invading krogan territory, then the krogan will go to war."

"A war with the turians? With the Reapers invading too?" Liara shook her head. "Goddess! The costs will be immense."

"Then we need to stop this war before it begins." Shepard surmised.

The shuttle was already entering the atmosphere and was juddering about. The jungle was too dense to land the Tiger-Shark; the krogan had apparently spent hours clearing a space large enough for a shuttle to land.

The shuttle hovered above the ground as the squad jumped out. Shepard's boots half sunk into the boggy ground. He'd only exited the shuttle for a second and he was already soaked.

"Lovely place." James muttered dryly.

The path was already flooded; the krogan had put down makeshift bridges made from metal and wood.

One of the scouts was waiting for them. He was striding across the planks.

"Shepard, over here." He called. "Grunt went…"

Something with a snake-like head and a fish-like body leapt out of the water with its mouth wide open.

The krogan yelled and vanished as the creature smashed through the makeshift bridge and swallowed him, vanishing under the water again.

"Goddess!" Liara exclaimed.

"That scared the shit out of me." James murmured. "Now how are we going to cross?"

"EDI, we've got a problem with the wildlife." Shepard radioed. "We can't cross the river."

"I can detect several large thermal signatures." EDI replied. "The krogan appear to have deployed sonic devices near each crossing."

Shepard saw the device; it looked like a portable generator with two small radar dishes pointed at the water.

"No juice," James shook his head, "no joy."

"Wait, I've used devices like these before." Liara examined the machine. "I've seen these at dig sites, they were used to scare away wild animals. They have backup systems, maybe you could bypass them."

Shepard knelt down next to the device and used his omni-tool to bypass the system.

The emitters began to turn, screeching out a noise that was beyond the team's hearing. It worked on the creatures though, Shepard saw one turn and swim away quickly.

"Let's cross now." Shepard told them. "Before the power runs out."

They jumped across the gap, just before the emitter finally ran out of power.

The creatures returned, but the squad was already out of reach. One of the creatures nearly beached itself in an attempt to catch them. James fired a few shots at it and it retreated.

"Ugly critters." He muttered.

"Let's hope there aren't many of those things." Shepard said.

They pressed on, further into the jungle. The krogan had cut and burned a path through the thick foliage, but it was still difficult.

The rain was making the ground boggy; their boots were covered in mud.

"Hear that?" James asked.

"It sounds like varren." Liara said.

Shepard kept his rifle raised as they moved forwards. They could handle varren, provided that the creatures didn't surround them.

The varren kept their distance for a while. Then they erupted from the foliage.

Shepard and his team were ready for them though. Liara caught most of them with a singularity; the others gunned them down before killing off the remaining varren.

"That wasn't so bad." James commented.

"Stay sharp." Shepard told him. "We're not done yet."

* * *

They arrived in a makeshift campsite; it belonged to the krogan scouts.

There were two dead krogan lying next to a prefab.

"They've been shot." Liara noticed.

"A disagreement?" James suggested.

"No. They were killed by snipers." Shepard pointed at the bullet wounds in their heads. "I hope that the turians didn't do this."

"Why would they?" James asked. "I know that sounds stupid, but pissing the krogan off now is stupid."

"Movement." Liara whispered.

Shepard ducked into cover and aimed with his rifle scope. He couldn't see anything at first.

But he knew how to spot a cloaked hostile. He could see the faint shimmer where the cloak covered its user.

"Freeze!" Shepard warned, activating the Valkyrie's targeting laser so that his squad could see what he was aiming at. "Identify yourself."

A bullet whizzed past his head. The cloak dissipated, revealing a turain armed with a sniper rifle.

Shepard opened fire, shooting the sniper in the chest. Another shot hit his cover and he turned to fire at another sniper.

James wheeled round to mow down a third sniper. Shepard managed to put two rounds through the second sniper's head.

"They were turians." James grimaced. "Damn!"

Liara approached the first sniper's corpse warily and examined him. "Shepard, look at this."

Shepard joined her. He could see electric blue lights in the turian's eyes and forehead. "Implants." He murmured. "They're being controlled."

"Someone wants to start a war between the turians and the krogan?" James frowned.

"Cerberus." Shepard guessed. "We have to warn the krogan."

* * *

As they moved further into the jungle, they heard gunfire. It sounded like the controlled turians were attacking the krogan scouts.

"Double time it!" He ordered, sprinting despite the sodden ground.

The gunfire was getting louder as they drew closer. They could also hear shouting.

"Come on you runts!" A krogan was bellowing. "Try aiming at them!"

The squad rushed out into a clearing. Four krogan were taking cover behind a wrecked APC, turian soldiers were attacking them.

"Shepard," one of the krogan waved them over. "Finally, someone with a quad."

"The turians are being controlled, Grunt." Shepard shouted over the gunfire. "They aren't trying to start a war."

"Whatever, we still need to kill these ones." Grunt aimed and fired. "These friends of yours had better be tougher than they look."

"They are." Shepard assured him. "How are your men?"

"Useless." Grunt stated. "I've lost most of them."

A shot boomed and one of the krogan fell back with part of his head missing.

"Shepard, flank 'em!" Grunt barked. "I'll hold them off."

"Good luck."

"I don't need luck." Grunt retorted. "I have ammo."

Shepard waited for Grunt and the remaining krogan soldiers to open fire before slipping out of cover with his squad. They moved through the trees to flank the turian position.

"Five of them," James whispered. "Four assault rifles and one shotgun."

Shepard lobbed a grenade at them. It landed on one of the soldiers and blew him and two others apart. James and Liara gunned down the others.

"Shepard, you'd better get back here." Grunt radioed. "Shuttles are coming."

As Shepard and his team ran back to Grunt's position, they saw white shuttles with yellow patterns approaching.

Cerberus.

Their controlled turians had failed; Cerberus troops were coming to finish the job.

"Cerberus?" Grunt scoffed. "Ha! This might be a good fight after all."

The shuttles hovered above the ground and dropped off two squads of troopers.

Shepard aimed his omni-tool and fired an incineration blast, setting two soldiers on fire. James lobbed a grenade and killed three more.

Bullets were flying thick and fast. Shepard's shields went down, forcing him to stay down and wait for them to recharge.

Liara hurled another biotic attack; James kept on firing his rifle. Grunt was having fun, blasting away with his shotgun.

Shepard aimed and fired again, instantly killing another trooper and finishing the fight.

"Got them all." Grunt stated. "Weaklings."

"Shepard, those shuttles came from a clearing not far from your current position." EDI announced. "Cerberus is likely using jamming equipment to hide a base."

"We'll take it out." Shepard replied. "We can't let Cerberus stay here." He glanced at Grunt. "Coming, Grunt? We're going to attack that Cerberus base."

"I don't care what I kill." Grunt racked a round into his shotgun. "As long as I get to hurt something."

"Wonderful." Liara muttered darkly.

* * *

Shepard followed the roughly hewn path to the Cerberus base. He could already see some prefabs and a barracks in a clearing. There was also a building with jammers, a landing pad and a communications array.

"We need to lose those jammers, the coms and the landing pad." James said. "If they call for reinforcements without the pad, they'll take longer to arrive."

"Good thinking, LT." Shepard nodded. "We need to neutralise the barracks too."

"I can handle that." Grunt stated. "You get rid of the rest."

"You'll have a lot of troopers to deal with." James pointed out.

"That's the idea." Grunt looked at James as if he was stupid.

"Grunt's hard to kill." Shepard told James. "He'll manage. We'll take the right flank and go for their array first, wait for us to disable it."

"Then we'll go straight in." Grunt growled. "Let's do this."

Shepard nodded and gestured for his squad to follow him.

Cerberus was on high alert; Shepard wanted to be stealthy until they were ready for the fire-fight.

Shepard used the foliage and crates for cover, creeping up to the array. Once there, he planted a charge and crept back to a safe distance.

"I've planted a charge." He radioed quietly. "Detonating in three… two… one." He pressed the detonator and the array exploded.

Grunt and his krogan charged into the camp, firing as they went and hurling grenades.

"He's not very subtle." Liara stated.

"He's a krogan." Shepard shrugged. "Let him have his fun."

Shepard moved towards the landing pad. That was next on the list. It sounded like Grunt was already trashing the barracks.

Cerberus troops were trying to stop them, but they were gunned down. Most of them were concentrating on the three krogan on a rampage.

Shepard threw a charge at the landing pad and ran back into cover, detonating the charge and blowing the landing pad into pieces.

"No help's coming any time soon." James shouted over the gunfire. "Let's finish this!"

Shepard led his squad to the jammers next, fighting through the Cerberus soldiers dumb enough to get in their way.

Something thudded and stepped out on front of them.

"Ah hell!" James spat. "More mechs?"

"Get down!" Shepard yelled as the mech fired its cannon.

The Atlas began to clomp forwards. A rocket flew over Shepard's head.

"Shepard, aim for the canopy!" Liara shouted, firing her SMG at the soldier sat inside the Atlas.

The mech had heavy shielding and armour, even if they could kill the pilot, it wasn't going to be a quick fight.

Shepard switched to disruptor ammunition and concentrated fire on the Atlas' screen. The screen began to crack under heavy fire.

The pilot shuddered as bullets hit him the chest and he slumped.

"Cover me." Shepard ordered, vaulting over cover and heading for the Atlas. He opened the cockpit and pulled the dead pilot out before taking the controls.

The Atlas was a little unwieldy, but it had punch. He aimed at the jammers and fired a rocket, blowing them up.

"Shepard," Grunt radioed. "I'm the last krogan standing. I could do with some help."

"We're on our way." Shepard responded, steering the Atlas towards the barracks.

"I've still got ammo." Grunt snorted. "I'm going to blow out the rear wall."

The wall exploded outwards and Grunt ran out. Shepard and his team opened fire on the Cerberus troopers that followed Grunt. The Atlas cannon was incredibly lethal, it was blasting the troopers into pieces.

Shepard piloted the Atlas right up to the barracks and set its self-destruct mechanism. He jumped out and ran after his squad.

The Atlas blew up, taking the barracks with it.

"That was fun." Grunt commented. "It's good to fight with my battlemaster again."

"You might be fighting with me again." Shepard told him. "We're fighting the Reapers."

"Ha!" Grunt patted Shepard on the back, it felt more like a punch. "I'm not missing out, count me in."

James called for extraction as the Cerberus base burned. Cortez didn't take long to arrive. Shepard and his team entered the shuttle with Grunt in tow.

"Anybody got something to eat?" Grunt asked.

Shepard shook his head, trying not to roll his eyes. Grunt might had grown up, but only a little.

* * *

_**Last recruitment mission coming, then things will start to hit the fan. I will give Cerberus new toys and troops, I'm going to introduce a variant of the Atlas later. **_

_**I would like to thank ParagonParadox and Legionary Prime for giving me ideas and support, thanks very much.**_


	7. A last voice

_**Last squad member coming up. Then more bullets start to fly. **_

_**WARNING: Horror and gore ahead, not for the faint hearted or squeamish. You have been warned.**_

* * *

"Commander, you have an urgent message in the briefing room." Traynor informed him over the intercom.

Shepard stopped inspecting his armour for damage and went down to the briefing room.

The message was from Anderson. "Shepard, you need to hear this." Anderson began. "What I'm about to tell you is highly classified, but the Council isn't going to act."

Shepard wasn't surprised. "What is it?"

"A research team on Eden Prime uncovered some kind of Prothean artefact." Anderson explained. "Then the Reapers arrived, they sent a small strike force and the planet has gone dark. The Council has taken steps to defend their homeworlds, but not colonies or other systems. We can't let the Reapers take that artefact, I need you to go in and grab it before the Reapers find it."

"Yes sir." Shepard nodded.

"Good luck, Shepard." Anderson finished. "Anderson out." The hologram shut down.

Shepard went to the galaxy map and put in a course for Eden Prime, warning Joker that they'd need the stealth systems online.

There were no Reapers parked over Eden Prime, but they were definitely there.

Shepard decided to deploy the Tiger-Shark for this mission. He took Liara, Garrus and Ashley with him, they needed Ashley as backup.

"Commencing drop," the computer began.

"This is really fun." Garrus winked at Liara. She frowned in response, not understanding Garrus' sarcasm.

"In three… two… one." The computer finished. The Tiger-Shark dropped, plummeting to the ground.

The engines kicked in quickly and the Tiger-Shark reached the ground safely.

"That wasn't bad actually." Liara said.

Garrus shook his head, grumbling.

Eden Prime, something of a paradise, was a mess again.

"It doesn't look good." Ashley murmured. "This is worse than the geth attack."

"This is where it all started." Liara added.

"Where the 212th died." Ashley continued. "All of them, except for me."

Shepard drove the Tiger-Shark towards the compound. He could already see the walls and the gate. Everything was pockmarked by projectile weapons and burnt by explosions.

Smoke filled the sky, ash was falling. There were burnt corpses in front of the gates.

"Conquerors ahead." Ashley warned.

Shepard aimed the cannon at the first one and blew the husk apart. A round hit the Tiger-Shark's shields. Shepard aimed and fired again, killing the second elcor husk.

Shepard moved the Tiger-Shark up to the gate. The gate remained closed.

"There's a control panel." Garrus pointed. "One of us can hack it, but whoever does it will need covering fire."

Shepard considered the options. "Garrus, you're up."

"I'm on it." Garrus checked his Vindicator before stepping out of the tank. "Keep me covered."

Shepard kept an eye on the radar and the screens. Garrus was hacking into the security systems.

"Incoming," Ashley pointed. "Looks like some kind of dropship."

Shepard turned the Tiger-Shark around to face the incoming threat. A craft slightly bigger than a shuttle was flying in. It had three of the Reaper "fingers" on its front. It also had leg-like struts for landing.

The fingers contained rapid fire projectile weapons, they learnt that very quickly. The dropship released some Cannibals and Marauders and took off again.

"Keep them off me." Garrus radioed. "I'm almost through."

Shepard switched to the machine guns and strafed the husks with bullets, mincing them and forcing others into cover. He forced them out again with the missile launchers and finished them off with the machine guns.

"It's open." Garrus reported. "Move in, I'll open the next one."

"Another gate?" Ashley wondered aloud.

"This is a secure research facility." Liara told her.

Garrus ran up to the next panel and began to hack the system. "Same drill; keep me covered."

Another dropship arrived and dropped off some Cannibals and a Conqueror.

Shepard took out the Conqueror first with a cannon shot and ripped the Cannibals up with the machine guns.

"Last one!" Garrus ran ahead to hack the next one. "We're on a roll, keep hitting them."

Another dropship arrived, dropping off Marauders and a new kind of thin husk.

"Salarian husks?" Ashley stared.

The salarians husks had an electrical weapon on their left arms and two blades running parallel to each other on the right.

The Tiger-Shark's shields flared and the console beeped a warning.

"They're using tech attacks. Keep an eye on the shields." Liara cautioned.

"That last shot was close," Garrus radioed. "Hold them off."

Shepard opened fire on the husks. The salarians husks were fragile, but they kept throwing electrical attacks at the Tiger-Shark and they were faster than human husks.

"They're getting closer!" Liara shouted.

"Ram them!" Ashley growled.

Shepard upped the speed and the Tiger-Shark shot forwards. He heard sickly snapping sounds as the tank ran the husks down. Half of a salarian husk flew over the screen.

"That's it." Garrus reported. "Let's get inside before more of them arrive."

Shepard reversed the tank inside and Garrus shut the gates behind them. They had arrived in a parking area for rovers. They weren't going any further in the Tiger-Shark. The wall ahead was too high and the only way in was a small door.

"That was fun." Garrus remarked.

"Ashley, stay here and guard the Tiger-Shark." Shepard ordered.

"Can do, sir." Ashley nodded.

* * *

Shepard took Liara and Garrus into the main compound. Everything was damaged, either by explosions or projectiles.

"I like what they've done with the place." Garrus muttered.

"What could make the Reapers prioritize this place?" Liara wondered. "Whatever these researchers found must be important."

The path ahead was blocked by a destroyed truck. Shepard had to lead his squad through a damaged prefab. He took a look at a datapad lying on the table.

"_Log entry 221: Hales, I don't care about securing that thing, it's brought these monsters down on us. We've got to run now! They'll kill your or worse. I'm going to take the…"_

The message ended abruptly, it was easy to guess what had happened.

"Stay close." Shepard told his team. "Weapons free."

The compound was still on fire. The Reapers had hit the place hard.

"It looks like they took the turrets and defences down with explosives." Garrus observed. "They must have hit this place hard and fast, maybe they had insiders."

Shepard stepped over some wreckage and out into the open.

It was too quiet.

"We're exposed out here." Garrus stated. "Watch out for snipers."

There didn't seem to be any, but it never hurt to be cautious.

Shepard left the open space as soon as he could and entered another gutted prefab.

"More explosives did this." Liara murmured. "The Reapers didn't attack from orbit, so what did this?"

"It must have been an insider." Garrus said. "Maybe they indoctrinated someone."

Shepard led them further into the compound, until they finally reached the main research block. He bypassed the security system and led them inside.

"It's still too quiet." Garrus murmured. "They tried to keep us out before, why stop now?"

"They're not," Shepard told him. "They're preparing an ambush."

Shepard paused at the admin console and searched for the latest logs.

"_The excavation has led into a passageway, the architecture matches with late Prothean structures apparently. At least that's what Roberts told me. The eggheads are going wild, but I reckon that they're just going to find some old junk and crap."_

Shepard checked the next log.

"_Some of the volus are acting weird and I mean weirder than normal. I asked one to sign in when it plodded through. It said something about "voices" and "masters". Creepy. I'm getting out of here as soon as I can."_

The last log was recent, a day ago. Shepard activated it.

"_We're under attack! There were huge explosions and these… things came in a slaughtered the guards. I saw them take corpses away for something. The volus were helping them! Damn things! Can't trust aliens. That's what attacked us; aliens. If any human finds this, then I'm hiding on sublevel nine. If you can prove that you're human, I'll give you the code. Help me!"_

"So there's a survivor?" Garrus asked.

"It sounded like he was close to madness." Liara said. "Paranoia at least."

"We'd better find him." Shepard checked his Valkyrie. "He could help us."

* * *

Shepard leaned around the corner with his rifle aimed down the hallway.

"Clear." He whispered. Liara moved up, Garrus covered their backs.

"Blood trail." Garrus muttered. "Not good."

The trail was mostly red, but with green and bluish-black mixed in too.

"They took the bodies to make more husks." Liara surmised.

"I'll take point." Shepard said. "Liara, cover me. Garrus, watch our sixes."

"Okay." Liara nodded.

"You got it." Garrus turned to check the corridor.

The place was still very quiet. It was unnerving.

The doors along the corridor had been forced open or smashed. Blood trails led out from each trashed room. The Reapers had been completely merciless, unsurprisingly.

"Sublevel nine?" Liara glanced at a sign. "We're only on the ground floor."

"We need a lift." Garrus added. "If they still work."

Something squelched under Shepard's foot and he looked down, regretting doing so immediately.

"Gross." Garrus grimaced.

Shepard fought to keep the vomit down, he'd seen a lot of gore, but he didn't make a habit of standing on eyeballs.

"Goddess, this is getting worse!" Liara breathed.

The corridor was filled with grisly evidence of a slaughter. Blood was all over the walls and ceilings, limbs and bits of bodies were strewn around.

Shepard shut his eyes for a moment. He heard Liara retch behind him. "Are you okay?" He asked gently.

"Somewhat." Liara murmured.

"They're trying to scare us." Garrus said. He looked a little shaky too. "Unfortunately they're doing well."

Pressing on took a lot of courage, the sights were only getting worse.

On the floor below, the carnage and horror was more recent.

The cafeteria they walked through had been repurposed. The Reapers were experimenting on people.

Bodies lay on the tables, opened up and with limbs removed. Each face had an expression of pure agony written everywhere; they had been alive during the experiments.

Garrus gagged at the sight of a dead salarian that had been bisected above the waist and opened up for examination.

"This has to stop." Liara breathed.

"I know." Shepard agreed. "And it will."

"Shepard, over here." Garrus frowned and pointed at the corpse of a volus. "They were very interested in the volus."

Shepard forced himself to look, keeping his stomach in check. "They've removed the organs." He realised. "What for?"

"Maybe it's better not to know." Garrus turned away from the corpse. "We need to stop them."

Shepard noticed a datapad on the floor, near the volus. He picked it up and turned it on.

It showed a recording of some kind of small Reaper, slightly taller than a human, operating on the volus. The volus was dead, but the recording was still awful to watch. The Reaper was removing the organs and replacing them with something mechanical.

"Looks like a drone that makes husks." Shepard murmured. "Worse than Dragon's Teeth."

"There's a lift ahead." Liara announced, still sounding shaken.

Shepard checked the lift before stepping inside with his team. He pressed the button for sublevel nine.

"Sorry I keep dragging you into these messes." He apologised.

"Anybody else would have chickened out." Garrus shrugged. "As turians say: _walk into the field with friends at your side_. We're not backing out."

"He's right." Liara agreed. "We've got to finish this fight."

Something clanged above their heads. Their weapons all went up, pointed at the lift's roof.

"Nobody move," Shepard whispered, "or make a sound."

The clanging sound was becoming frequent. Their weapons were still raised.

They remained silent, completely still. All Shepard could hear was breathing and the clanging.

The metal twisted and erupted towards them, the blades of a salarian husk flashed towards Shepard.

The squad opened fire, ripping it apart, green blood and oil hit Shepard's armour.

The husks remains were still on the roof, luckily.

Garrus shook his head. "I used to like late night horror vids." He remarked.

The lift began to shake again.

"Another one?" Liara aimed her SMG up.

"I don't…" Shepard heard the screeching sound. "They're dropping us!"

Liara ripped the control panel off and attempted to open the doors.

"Is anything going to stop this lift?" Garrus asked hopefully.

"The basement." Shepard answered.

"Oh." Garrus swallowed. "Crap."

The lift shuddered and began to drop. The lights went out and the only thing Shepard heard was the screech of metal and Garrus shouting.

The lift stopped suddenly and he stumbled, hitting a wall.

"Got it!" Liara breathed. "The brakes are on. I'll get the doors open."

The lift dropped again, there was more screeching until Liara activated the brakes again. This time the doors opened.

"Go!" Shepard yelled.

They needed no encouragement. Shepard threw himself out after them.

He heard the lift fall again and finally crash several floors down.

"What is it with me and lifts?" Shepard muttered as he picked himself up.

"Let's take the stairs next time." Garrus said shakily. "Where are we?"

"Sublevel ten." Liara shone her flashlight on a wall sign.

"Nice work with those controls, Liara." Shepard told her.

Liara just nodded, relieved that they were all alive.

"Not more of this." Garrus groaned. His flashlight had illuminated more blood.

They moved very carefully after the lift incident. Taking the stairs up felt better, even if they were covered in blood.

Sublevel nine was deserted like the rest of the base. Liara guessed that the Reapers were trying to find the Prothean artefact.

"Hello?" Shepard called softly. "Is anyone here?"

Garrus paused next to a sealed door and listened. He activated the thermal setting on his visor. There was someone behind the door.

"He's here." Garrus beckoned Shepard and Liara over.

Shepard knocked on the door, Liara and Garrus covered him.

"Who's there?" A shaky voice called.

"Commander Shepard." Shepard replied.

"Who's with you?"

"Friends." Shepard left it at that. "We're here to help."

There was silence for a moment.

"You don't fool me or the thermal scanner." The voice returned. "You've got _aliens _with you."

"They're friends." Shepard persisted. "Not Reapers."

"No aliens!" The voice shouted. "No frigging aliens!"

"Listen to me," Shepard insisted. "We're _not _going to hurt you. We want to help you. I can understand your fear, but you can't blame non-humans for this. The Reapers did this, not asari or turians or salarians, you can't blame anyone except for the Reapers."

There was more silence.

"I don't want to die." The man whimpered. "I don't want _them _to take me."

"We won't let them." Shepard promised. "Please open the door."

More silence.

Then the door finally hissed open. The survivor had been hiding in a storeroom; he was clutching a scanner and a small pistol desperately.

Shepard lowered his rifle. "See, we're not Reapers and we're not here to harm you."

The man lowered his pistol slightly. "They killed everyone."

"I know, but you're still alive." Shepard said. "We're here to stop the Reapers. What's your name?"

"Nathan." The man shivered. "Nathan Miles, I'm just the admin guy."

"Can you tell me what happened here?"

Miles shivered. "Well… everything was going fine and then something exploded." He began. "They blew up the turrets and half of the guards within seconds and then those… _monsters _came and killed the others. I ran down here and locked myself inside."

"What destroyed the defences?"

"The volus, they just walked up to the turrets and exploded."

"The Reapers turned them into walking bombs." Garrus murmured. "That's sick."

"I don't know any more!" Miles was close to breaking. "Please help me!"

"I will, but I need access to the excavation." Shepard told him.

"But the monsters are there!"

"I'm not taking you there," Shepard explained. "But I need to find something there."

Miles sighed and nodded. "Okay, the codes are on this datapad." He handed Shepard the device. "Can I leave now?"

"Not alone." Shepard decided.

"Who's going to walk him out then?" Garrus asked.

Shepard considered. "Garrus, get him to the Tiger-Shark." Shepard instructed. "Meet us at the excavation site if you can."

"I'll be back before you know it." Garrus assured him. "Come on, Miles. Stay close."

* * *

It would be harder without a second squad member, but Shepard couldn't have left Miles to fend for himself.

The Reapers were busy at the excavation site apparently, they were clear for now.

"Watch my back." Shepard whispered to Liara before moving ahead.

They could hear rhythmic thumping ahead, it sounded like the Reapers were trying to enter the excavation site.

"Garrus here, the survivor is in the Tiger-Shark." Garrus radioed. "I'm on my way back."

"Be careful, Garrus." Shepard said.

"I'm always careful." Garrus scoffed. "Well… I'm careful sometimes."

The route to the excavation was leading them deeper underground. Shepard could almost feel the monumental weight of the rock above his head.

"It's unnerving, isn't it?" Liara had picked up on Shepard's unease. "Being this far underground."

"How do you cope?" Shepard asked.

"You get used to it after a while."

The corridor ended and they found themselves on a catwalk overlooking a large cavern. They could see a huge, heavy metal door ahead, protected by a shield.

Reaper husks were below, trying to force their way through the door.

There were too many for them to take on, they needed an edge. Shepard gestured for Liara to follow him. They crept along the catwalk, heading left.

The husks had resorted to brute force. The gunfire was drowning out Shepard and Liara's footsteps.

The Reapers were desperate to get inside and find the Prothean artefact.

Shepard saw a volus stagger towards the heavy door. He could see that its suit was damaged and the lights were off. The volus exploded as soon as it touched the door.

It was a big explosion, but it didn't even dent the door or disrupt the shields.

Shepard kept on moving, they had to get out of sight and fast. If one husk looked up then they'd be dead within moments.

They reached the next room; they were out of sight now.

"Garrus," Shepard whispered into his radio. "Be careful near the caverns. Do not, I repeat; do not engage the husks. Just move to the left and stay low."

"I'm nearly there." Garrus replied. "I can hear them. I'll stay low and quiet."

They waited until Garrus arrived. They still had no plan for dealing with the Reapers below.

"You weren't kidding." Garrus muttered.

"Ideas?" Shepard whispered.

Garrus shook his head.

"Maybe we can reactivate the security systems." Liara suggested. "A site this important must have containment protocols."

"It's better than no plan." Shepard nodded. "Let's go."

They moved through the upper cavern as carefully and quietly as they could.

The security centre was deserted but still functional. Barely.

The systems were also damaged. Shepard knew that someone had to repair them.

"Liara, can you fix this?" He asked.

"Yes." Liara removed a panel and activated her omni-tool. "But it's going to attract attention."

"Here we go again." Garrus muttered.

"We'll cover you." Shepard told her. Garrus helped him to move a databank across the room to give Liara some cover.

An alarm began to blare.

"Warning: Containment system activating." A VI announced. "All staff must evacuate to designated areas."

"We should be safe in here." Liara stated. "The doors will lock when the system activates."

"Containment procedures will commence in three minutes."

"Just three minutes?" Garrus asked.

"I can't make it go any faster." Liara explained.

Salarian husks were charging along the catwalks, Shepard and Garrus opened fire, bullets ripped the husks apart.

"Aim for their legs!" Garrus shouted. "Stop them before they get close!"

Shepard shot one of the husks in the knee. It stumbled and he finished it off with a headshot.

"Two minutes to go." Liara told them. "Almost at full power."

"Marauders," Garrus warned. "Take them out first."

It was good advice, the Marauders seemed to coordinate other husks and provide support. Shepard and Garrus took them out first. Despite holding for minutes, the adrenaline made it feel like seconds.

"One minute!" Liara shouted over the gunfire.

"Incoming volus! Take them out quickly!"

Shepard aimed and fired.

The explosion sent limbs and blood flying, it also destroyed the catwalk and left the surviving husks stranded.

The door closed and sealed.

"Containment procedures commencing." The VI announced. "Please wait."

The room began to shake and a rumbling sound filled the air.

"Containment procedures finished." The VI declared. "You may now resume work. You may now leave the safe zones."

The door opened. The cavern had been scorched; the husks had been reduced to ash.

"It's hotter than Palaven in here now." Garrus muttered.

"Hotter than Therum too." Liara added.

"The caverns are clear," Shepard said, "we've got a clear run to the door. Use the grapples to descend."

Shepard attached a magnetic grapple to the remains of the catwalk and descended. He waited for his friends to follow him down before moving towards the door.

Shepard activated the system and typed in the security codes. Perhaps the Reapers needed to consider finding passcodes before they butchered people.

Then again, they probably would've called in a bigger Reaper to destroy the doors at some point.

The heavy door receded into the ground. Beyond lay a large corridor, like the ones they'd seen on Ilos, with powerless stasis pods on the walls.

"_This _was what they were after?" Garrus was disappointed. "A tomb?"

"Look around." Shepard ordered. "There must be something here."

Liara was gazing around and studying the odd Prothean sign on the walls. She was easily distracted by Prothean ruins.

There had been fighting in the bunker, long ago. There were broken stasis pods holding the burnt bodies of Protheans. Dead Collectors were also present, along with the remains of some species that Shepard had never seen before. The wires and damaged cybernetics revealed that they had been husks, but little else.

Shepard was about to give up when he spotted it.

The lights on one of the pods were still on. It was still active.

Shepard touched the switch and the pod slid out. A holographic panel appeared, the Cipher allowed Shepard to read the Prothean symbols.

"Liara," he called. Liara walked over, still curious. "This pod is still active."

It didn't take her long to realise what that meant. "Goddess!" She exclaimed. "There's a living Prothean in there?"

"Apparently." Shepard examined the display. "Yes, this one has vital signs."

"This must be what the Reapers wanted." Liara guessed. "The last Prothean in existence."

"We can't drag the pod out." Garrus stated. "Reapers are still in this base, they're probably coming for us."

"Shepard…" Liara began.

"He's right." Shepard told her. "We need to open this. I'll be careful." He tapped in a command.

The pod hissed and began to open.

The Prothean was only asleep for a few more moments. He or she looked like a warrior.

The Prothean saw them and bolted up, throwing some sort of biotic attack at them before stumbling out of the pod.

The Prothean was disorientated, confused. It had been 50,000 years since he had gone into stasis, but it only felt like a few minutes. Now three strange creatures had opened his pod.

The Prothean stared at them. He pointed at Shepard and began to speak in Prothean, walking towards him.

As soon as he touched Shepard, a rush of images poured through his head, all of them confusing. They began to make some sense after a moment.

* * *

_50,000 years ago_

Eden Prime, not the Prothean name for it, was under attack. The Reapers had decimated everything; this was the Protheans' last stand. Extinction was imminent.

Inside the bunker, the Prothean walked with one of kind.

"I can hardly believe that our Empire has fallen." The second Prothean murmured.

"It won't." The first one stated. "Once the Reapers leave, we will rise a million strong."

"For the Empire." The second Prothean said.

"For the Empire." The first one agreed. "Get to your stasis pod."

As the second Prothean hurried to his pod, the other one spoke to a VI. "Victory, how many pods are online?"

"50%, Commander Javik." The VI answered. "500,000 online and rising. What about the soldiers still on the surface?"

Javik considered. "Their sacrifice will be honoured in the coming Empire."

Victory said nothing. An alarm began to ring urgently. "Alert!" Victory announced. "Reaper forces have reached the entrance."

Javik produced a slim rifle of some kind and ran to the bulkhead with some of his soldiers.

Collectors appeared, firing their particle guns at the Protheans. The Protheans fought back valiantly. Many of them were cut down and killed.

Javik shot Collectors with his beam rifle and crushed others with his biotics. But even he would be overwhelmed some.

"Victory, seal the bulkhead!" He ordered, grabbing a fallen Prothean and pulling him inside the bunker.

The bulkhead jammed. Strange husks were closing in, aliens that Shepard didn't know about. Javik and the remaining Protheans kept holding them off, but they were taking heavy losses.

The bulkhead finally began to descend again, crushing a Collector and another husk, leaving the rest stranded outside.

"Commander Javik, you must enter your pod now." Victory stated. "The neutron bombardment must begin."

"How many did we lose?" Javik asked.

"35% of the soldiers."

Javik looked down sadly at one of the corpses. "So few of us are left." He murmured.

"Enter your stasis pod now."

Javik grimaced and walked up to his pod. It opened and he lay down inside.

The pod whirred, closed and retracted into the wall.

"Neutron bombardment underway." Victory announced.

The bunker shook as everything outside of the pods was decimated.

"Alert, systems damaged." Victory warned. "Remote access impossible."

"Clarify." Javik demanded.

"You will have to wait until a new species discovers this bunker." Victory explained. "This may cause a power shortage."

Javik realised what that meant. "Do not shut down any pods!" He shouted. "I need the few who are left."

"Power will be triaged appropriately." Victory ignored him. "You will be the voice of our people."

"I will be more than that."

* * *

The images ceased. Javik was still standing in front of him.

"How many?" He asked.

"Just you." Shepard answered.

"It only saved me." Javik muttered. "That damn machine."

"You can understand me?"

"Yes, now that I have examined your physiology, your mind." Javik explained. "You are human." He glanced at Shepard's allies. "Asari, turian. I am surrounded by primitives."

Liara was speechless with excitement and anxiousness. Garrus was perplexed by the Prothean.

"Do you fight the Reapers?" Javik asked.

"Yes."

"Then our paths are joined." Javik went back to his pod and pulled out his beam rifle. "Any enemy of the Reapers is an ally to me. I am Commander Javik, a warrior of the Prothean Empire."

"Commander Shepard." Shepard held out his hand.

Javik glanced at it, didn't understand and ignored it. "We must leave this place." He stated.

"Agreed." Shepard turned on his radio. "Ashley, we're coming out. With a… friend."

* * *

_**Just in case anyone needs to catch up with the new husk types, here's a list of current husks:**_

_**Elcor husks: Conquerors (mobile artillery and replacements for the Ravagers)**_

_**Salarian husks: Devils (melee and anti-shield)**_

_**Volus husks: Defilers (walking bombs)**_

_**Again, my thanks to ParagonParadox for support and ideas. **_


	8. An offer

They found space for Javik in the observation module. He didn't want much to do with the crew; he preferred to keep to himself.

Liara was starting to irritate him. He didn't seem to understand how significant a living Prothean was to her.

Shepard entered the module just as Javik was ignoring Liara. She just shrugged at Shepard, not understating why Javik was being so dismissive.

"Your asari has the curiosity of a child." Javik stated. "She should know that my actions are more important than my words."

Shepard didn't know what to say. Liara was hardly a child, even if 109 was young for an asari, and she studied the Protheans, a race that fascinated her. Now there was a live one on the ship, of course she wanted to speak to him.

"Liara studies the Protheans." Shepard explained. "She's published a few theories."

"The asari learnt to write?" Javik muttered.

Liara frowned at that comment. "We're not primitives anymore."

"There was a time when you could only count as high as your toes," Javik continued. "We took pity."

"What do you mean?" Liara was suddenly curious again.

"It does not matter." Javik shook his head. "I am here to fight the Reapers. That is my purpose. My _only _purpose."

"You said you were a warrior." Shepard said.

"In my cycle there were avatars, exemplars of an aspect. Courage, fortitude, leadership." Javik explained. "I am the avatar of vengeance, the last voice of a dead race. I will avenge my people, no matter the cost. Those who aid my cause are allies. Those who do not become casualties."

Liara was not impressed. She'd had many expectations; it appeared that all they had found was a warmonger.

"That's a little extreme, Javik." Shepard said.

"When you stand on a dead world with the ghosts of millions of souls around you, you will understand." Javik stated. He reached out and touched Shepard's shoulder. "You fight the Reapers, your homeworld is burning. Your race is in jeopardy. Victory is nearly impossible." He removed his hand. "You saw our warnings, human." He growled. "Why did you not act sooner?"

"The beacon nearly killed me." Shepard explained. "It was damaged and I barely understood the message. We managed to stop a Reaper invasion three years ago with that information."

"Perhaps you are worthy of some respect." Javik murmured. "This has been… amusing. According to your asari, you share power with the turians and the asari."

"There's also the salarians." Liara added.

"The lizard people evolved?"

"They're amphibians."

Javik seemed to smirk for a moment. "They used to eat flies."

Shepard found it hard to imagine Mordin eating flies. "Thank you for your time, Javik."

Javik just went back to studying the files they had given him.

"There is something else." Liara told him. "We found this on Mars." She handed him a datapad.

Javik studied the device first, muttering about it being primitive before reading its contents.

"What is this?" He asked.

"I was hoping you'd know." Liara said.

"This is a scientist's work." Javik stated. "I am a warrior, not a scientist. I kill, I do not study."

He handed the datapad back to her. Liara left, looking a little crushed.

"Amusing." Javik murmured again. "Protheans never bonded with other races."

"What do you mean?" Shepard asked.

"You are bonded with the asari." Javik said. "I can detect the genetic markers. Just as I detect that another asari was in this room, an older one, weighed down by guilt but with a clear purpose in mind. She was a warrior, like me, only with more boundaries."

"That was a Justicar called Samara." Shepard told him.

"You did not bond with that one." Javik murmured. "Only with the one called Liara. At least you have devotion, human. Leave me to my work."

Shepard took the not very subtle hint and left. He went to see Liara, who was still crushed.

"I'm sorry about that." Shepard apologised.

"It's not your fault." Liara sighed. "It's mine. I had these… expectations about the Protheans, like I had for humans. Both of them were proved wrong, I shouldn't be surprised."

"What were your expectations for humans?" Shepard asked, hoping to steer her away from her disappointment.

"From what I was told, I always thought that humans were loud, rough and rash." She shrugged. "You were the first human I really interacted with."

"I suppose the Prothean visions helped." Shepard smiled. "I would have made a good _in depth study_."

"Oh, you still remember that!" Liara blushed. "I didn't realise that you were joking, that was embarrassing." She sat down on her bed. Shepard sat next to her. At least he had managed to change the topic to something better.

"I think that was when I fell in love with you." He told her.

"I still find it hard to believe that you fell for an awkward asari with few social skills," Liara smirked, "who nearly fainted every time she saw the Prothean visions in your mind."

"It wasn't difficult."

Liara smiled and kissed him. "I did find something by the way." She showed him the datapad again. "The Protheans developed some sort of code, something that can apparently affect a Reaper."

"How does it work?" Shepard asked.

"I don't know yet." Liara answered. "But they were _very _close to finding a way."

"Maybe this can at least convince the Council to help us. Good work."

"My pleasure." She smiled.

* * *

The _Normandy _finally reached the Citadel. There was a lot of traffic, warships and refugee transports were coming and going.

"_SSV_ _Normandy_, this is Citadel docking control." The radio buzzed. "You are authorised to dock at Zakera Ward bay D-24."

"We're back on a leash again." Joker muttered.

"Just letting you know that we care, _Normandy_." Docking control had heard him.

"Uh... yes thank you very much." Joker added quickly.

Joker brought the _Normandy _in and docked. Shepard allowed his team to disperse, they needed a rest.

Liara accompanied him; she was carrying the Prothean data in her omni-tool.

Not a lot changed on the Citadel. The lifts were still slow, but at least they had turned the crappy music down a bit.

"Scientists on Kahje have finally made a breakthrough," the news reported announced. "They have cured several drell suffering from Kepral's Syndrome using nanites that repair and replace damaged lung tissue. This treatment is being offered freely to all drell."

"That's good news for Thane." Shepard smiled.

"Breaking news: Large warships, apparently the same kind that led a geth attack on the Citadel three years ago, have been sighted near Palaven."

"That's not good." Liara grimaced.

"They're picking targets based on strength." Shepard realised. "They attacked Earth because they think that humanity is strong, because of me. Now they're attacking Palaven because it has the strongest military."

"They're still denying the truth." Liara noticed. "The Council still denies that the Reapers exist."

"Some things never change."

Their lift arrived on the Presidium and they walked to the Citadel tower.

Captain Bailey from C-Sec was waiting for them. "Good to see you, Commander." He shook Shepard's hand. "You must be Doctor T'Soni." He also shook Liara's hand. "Just so you know; Anderson had to really push for this meeting."

Anderson was a good friend to have; Shepard was glad that he had remained on the Council. Things would have been impossible without him.

The Councillors, including Anderson were waiting in the same places. Shepard was separated from them by a gap, which he could understand now. The bridge had been built that way to stop people from jumping across and strangling the Councillors.

Well, he wouldn't have strangled Anderson, or even the others. He might hit the others though.

"Commander," it was Anderson who welcomed Shepard. "Good to see that you're still in one piece."

"Councillor Anderson insisted that we not only reinstate you, but arrange this meeting." The asari Councillor was faintly irritated. "If you're here about Earth, there is little we can do to deal with the… hostiles that are attacking your planet."

"They are Reapers, Councillor." Liara folded her arms. "You can't deny that any longer."

"Please understand, Doctor T'Soni." The salarian Councillor held up a hand for silence. "If we were to announce that a race of sentient warships was coming to wipe out all life, there would be a mass panic, loss of trade, collapse of infrastructure."

"Is this denial any better?" Shepard demanded. "We need to _fight _the Reapers. None of us can do that alone, we have to stand together."

"Shepard is right." Anderson agreed. "The Reapers won't stop at Earth; they'll destroy everything unless we stop them."

"Our worlds are also under threat, Councillor Anderson." The turian Councillor stated. "We're not blind to Earth's peril. How can we help you when our worlds are under siege?"

"The Reapers, according to your reports and evidence from the battle against Sovereign, show that even if we gathered all of our forces, we would still lose. The Reapers can't be destroyed by conventional means." The asari Councillor agreed. "I hate to admit it, Commander, but all we can do is defend ourselves."

Shepard sighed. "Councillor, I never asked you to follow me without a plan." He nodded at Liara who showed them the Prothean data on her omni-tool. "This is data we recovered from the Mars archives. It reveals that the Protheans managed to capture and study a Reaper, they found a weakness."

"What kind of weakness." The turian Councillor asked.

"We don't know yet." Liara answered. "But they were close to finding an answer."

"Yet the Protheans were defeated." The salarian Councillor shook his head. "We cannot gamble our lives over this, because this information did not save the Protheans."

"They ran out of time." Liara protested. "This is our only chance."

"Liara is right." Shepard agreed. "If we give up hope, then we've already lost."

The Councillors exchanged glances. Anderson realised which way this was going and scowled.

"The sad truth is that while the Reapers concentrate on Earth, we can fortify our own worlds." The asari Councillor announced. "I'm sorry, Commander."

"_No you're not!" _Shepard fumed silently.

"So you're going to do _nothing_?" Liara demanded angrily.

They ignored her and walked off, leaving them with Anderson.

"Shepard, Liara, meet me in my office." He requested. "We need to talk."

* * *

"Honestly, I don't know why I bothered." Anderson sighed. He was leaning against the balcony, looking out across the Presidium. "I should have known that they would be the same blind, stubborn morons we had to cope with years ago."

"At least you tried." Shepard told him. "But we still need their help."

"I have faith in you, Shepard." Anderson said. "No-one else can win this fight. What about this data? You said that the Reapers have a weakness."

"The Protheans found something." Liara showed him the data again. "But for I all I know, this data might not be complete."

"Then we'll make it complete." Anderson told her. "Shepard, if you or Liara need any intel, I'll see what I can give you, all you have to do is ask."

They heard the door hiss open. The turian Councillor walked in.

"Councillor, what can we do for you?" Anderson asked.

"I'm here to talk to Shepard." The Councillor explained. "I'm sorry about how that went and ultimately I cannot go against the Council, things are already unstable."

"Go against the Council?" Liara repeated uncertainly.

"Palaven is under attack." The Councillor explained. "We're holding, but the Reapers are targeting Cipritine and our leadership. Without a leader, the turian armies and fleets will be helpless, I have no military power and I'm just a political representative."

"We know." Shepard told him. "Why are you telling me this?"

The Councillor looked down at his feet for a moment. "They mustn't know about this, like I said things are unstable. We're supposed to protect our own worlds, but I'm asking you to help mine so that I can help yours. I need you to evacuate the Primarch from Palaven." He explained. "Do that and I'll see what can be done for Earth. We're not as blind as you think we are. I am all too aware that the Reapers will not stop until we are all dead. At least consider this offer, Commander." He walked out, leaving them to ponder their options.

None of the options were promising.

"What choice do we have?" Shepard muttered.

"You're going to take his offer?" Anderson asked.

"We need the turians. In fact we need everybody on our side."

"Fair enough." Anderson shrugged. "I can give you access to the armoury in the Spectre office before you leave, grab what you need. You're going into a warzone."

* * *

Shepard took Anderson's advice and some big guns.

The _Normandy's _armoury was now stocked with pistols, rifles, shotgun, rocket launchers, whatever they needed to fight a small war.

This mission was going to be a team assault, they needed lots of guns.

"Revenant," James checked the weapon, "nice. We owe Anderson some drinks."

"We're going to need this." Garrus hefted a Mamba EMP missile launcher. "Maybe a few anti-tank weapons too."

"Are you sure about this, Commander?" Ashley asked. "We've been a lot of scraps, but a full scale war?"

"It'll be like this, if not worse, on Earth." Shepard told her whilst examining an M6 Carnifex. "This is just the start."

"Commander, we're approaching Palaven." Joker informed them. "ETA: Ten mintues."

"Thanks for the update." Shepard turned on the holographic projector. "Here's the plan: I'll go in first and secure an LZ using the Tiger-Shark." The hologram showed an arrow coming down from the _Normandy _and a blue space clearing in the outskirts of Cipritine. "Once the LZ is clear, Cortez will bring the rest of you in with the shuttle. Tali, Javik, I need you two to keep the LZ secure." The map updated and showed the Tiger-Shark moving into the city. "The rest of us will head into the city. The turians have an outpost halfway between the LZ and the Bastion, I'll leave Ashley and Grunt to help defend it and rally a defence. Otherwise we'll have no clear way out. We'll move up to the Bastion, I'll enter with Garrus and James, leaving Liara to guard the Tiger-Shark. We'll use the Tiger-Shark to evacuate Primarch Fedorian and pick up the squad on the way back to the LZ where the _Normandy _will pick us up." He paused. "Any questions?"

"What if the outpost isn't there?" Ashley asked.

"Then we'll have to cope without it." Shepard answered. "Not having the outpost will make things harder though."

"What if this Primarch is dead?" Javik asked.

"Then we have to find and rescue his successor." Liara explained. "The turians have clear lines of succession."

"And yet there was a time when they fought over leadership." Javik muttered.

Garrus was busy checking an anti-armour rifle; he didn't pick up on the comment.

"Grab the weapons you need then head down to the shuttle bay." Shepard instructed. "We're deploying as soon as we reach Cipritine."

* * *

_**I apologise for this taking a while. I'm juggling two projects at once at the moment. I will finish this story, but it might take slightly longer than intended. **_

_**Please send reviews, they help with the writing. I am planning a fairly lengthy battle on Palaven, so bear with me.**_

_**The cure for Kepral's Syndrome and the news reports came from ParagonParadox, who pointed out that the hanar have been studying the syndrome for a while. With tech in the ME universe being highly advanced, it's likely that they could look into nano-technology for cures. **_


	9. Warzone

_**Thanks to encouragement, and writer's bloody block for my other project, I'm carrying on with Reignite. As a rookie author, I have a piece of advice for other writers: plan out your work, write it all down, short or long, it will help.**_

* * *

Above Palaven, the Reaper fleet launched another attack on the turian warships. It was only the sheer might of the turian fleet that was keeping the Reapers at bay, but they were losing.

As the _Normandy _approached Palaven with the stealth systems engaged, the Reapers struck.

The turians opened fire; mass accelerator rounds shot silently through the void and hit the Reapers. Their powerful shields shrugged off the powerful guns of the turian fleet. Their weapons carved through the biggest ships like a blade through flesh.

"Jesus!" Joker breathed as he watched the carnage ensue. "The turians are taking a beating."

"The strongest military in the galaxy," Shepard murmured, he could see the images on the Tiger-Shark's HUD. "And the Reapers are obliterating it."

"And it was worse for Earth." Ashley added.

"Until Palaven is safe…" Garrus paused. "Or the turian fleet is wiped out; they won't back down or retreat."

"Then we'd better save Palaven." Tali declared.

"ETA: Thirty seconds." EDI announced.

The _Normandy _shook slightly as it entered the atmosphere.

"Seal helmets." Shepard instructed. "Apart from Garrus, we'll have to worry about radiation." Shepard put his helmet on and checked the seals. He heard the _click-hiss _of sealing helmets as his team did the same. The Tiger-Shark verified each sealed helmet, apart from Tali and Garrus. Tali always had her mask and suit, obviously. Garrus didn't have to worry, Palaven was his homeworld.

Shepard was driving the Tiger-Shark again with Liara as his co-pilot, James and Garrus were in the back.

The live feed from the _Normandy's _sensors showed Cipritine. The city was in a bad way, almost as bad as London. Shepard could see fire coming from the city, the turians were holding off the Reaper dropships and airborne husks.

The Reapers were taking their time; they didn't have much to fear. Even if the turians had a powerful military and tonnes of firepower, the Reapers weren't about to starve or lose morale.

"At least they're still holding." James tried to find a silver lining.

"But for how much longer?" Garrus asked.

No-one had an answer. They didn't have the heart to say that the turians were fighting a losing battle.

"Commander, the LZ has been occupied by Reaper forces, as expected." EDI informed him. "ETA: Ten seconds."

Shepard braced himself for the landing.

"Five… four… three… two… one." EDI finished.

The Tiger-Shark dropped and plummeted. The jets spat and the M47 cruised in and hovered above the ground.

"Shepard, the Reapers are deploying airborne units and heavy ground forces." EDI warned. "I advise extreme caution."

"Thanks for the warning." Shepard drove the Tiger-Shark forwards. The land around Cipritine was somewhat similar to Earth's, despite the radiation. It reminded Shepard of the Chernobyl accident and the recovery of Pripyat afterwards, it was still slightly radioactive.

The fields were pockmarked by craters from explosives. There were huge scorch marks where larger Reapers had landed; resembling the damage Sovereign had done to Eden Prime.

An alarm blared, warning Shepard that something had locked on the Tiger-Shark.

He looked up and saw some odd looking husks. They were flying on leathery wings that should have been feathered. They also had long curved beaks and cybernetics all over their bodies. Attached to their arms were two rapid fire projectile weapons and grenade launchers.

"Those are raloi!" Liara exclaimed. The raloi were a pre-spaceflight species, the Reapers were putting all of their cards on the table if they were going for primitive species now.

The raloi husks opened fire. Their projectile weapons were obviously meant for infantry, they were barely giving the shields any trouble. The grenade launchers were a bigger issue.

Shepard aimed the machine guns and shot down several of the husks. A grenade hit the Tiger-Shark and the vehicle shuddered. An alarm beeped, warning that the shields were at 50%.

Shepard locked onto the last two and fired the missiles. The two husks disintegrated into a bloody mess of wires and gore.

"Payback's a bitch!" James whooped.

They reached the LZ, a space large and wide enough for a shuttle to land.

Conquerors and Scions were there. The Scions were more or less the same ones that he had faced when fighting the Collectors, but their shockwave gun had been replaced with a light cannon.

Shepard took aim as Liara adjusted the shields to take the incoming fire. Shepard took out the Conquerors first as they were carrying the most firepower, the Scions were doing less damage. It didn't take him long to clear the LZ.

"Cortez, the LZ is secure." He radioed.

"Copy that, Commander." Cortez confirmed. "Coming in now. ETA: Thirty seconds."

* * *

The shuttle arrived in thirty seconds because Cortex flew it in quickly, he somehow managed to slow it down and land it gracefully.

Garrus opened the Tiger-Shark's hatch, Ashley and Grunt climbed in and he closed it again.

"Tali, Javik, keep the shuttle safe." Shepard instructed. "Use the auto-turrets."

"Easy." Tali acknowledged. "See you later."

Shepard saw Tali haul out two turrets and set them up. He drove off, heading towards the city.

A marker appeared on his map, pointing him to the outpost. They were going through Reaper territory, but it was safer than risking a shuttle ride over the contested city.

Garrus was being quiet; no doubt he was upset to see Cipritine in such a state. The high towers were broken and buildings were burning. Bodies were in the streets, turian soldiers and Reaper husks.

Shepard could the see the Bastion ahead, a huge cube shaped structure with four sloped faces. It was a fortress, the only thing keeping the Primarch safe. But it couldn't hold for long.

"Reaper forces ahead." Liara noticed. "Infantry and an Annihilator."

The Reaper tank fired at them, the infantry moved ahead. The Marauders slipped into cover, the human husks just charged at the Tiger-Shark. Shepard mowed them down with the machineguns, weaving from side-to-side to avoid the Annihilator's shots.

With the charging husks down, Shepard fired a cannon round through the Annihilator's hover engines, grounding it. He finished the helpless tank off with another cannon shot.

Without armoured support, the Marauders were easy kills.

"I'm sure there are more ahead." Liara murmured.

"Like Anderson said, we're in a warzone now." Shepard reminded her.

The sounds of battle were only getting louder as they drove down the highway.

Something large appeared on the radar.

"Incoming!" Liara pointed.

"Brace yourselves!" Shepard yelled.

The turian cruiser had been shot down in low orbit, it was coming in hard. The large ship made the ground shake as it plummeted, burning, towards the city.

It hit an area north-east of their position and levelled several streets. The impact kicked up a cloud of dust and debris, the shockwave made the Tiger-Shark shake crazily.

"Goddess…" Liara breathed.

"Hard to watch a ship go down like that." James murmured.

"Not to mention the crew." Garrus added. "And the place it destroyed.

"It's something else the Reapers will pay for."

Shepard checked the radar before driving onwards.

The roads were relatively deserted; the Reapers were concentrating on the turian lines that had been pushed closer to the Bastion.

The Tiger-Shark's radio was picking up radio transmissions, none of them sounded good. Most of the turians were falling back. The Reapers were deploying Destroyers and heavy units.

They were nearing the outpost, their halfway mark.

"More Annihilators ahead." Liara warned. "The turians are under heavy fire."

Shepard could see the three tanks ahead. They were attacking two turian hover tanks. The hover tanks were armed with missile pods and an auto-cannon.

One of the Annihilators exploded under a barrage of missiles, but the other two continued to fire and destroyed the turian tanks.

Shepard opened fire, hitting one of the Annihilators in the back and killing it instantly. The other turned and opened fire, Shepard moved the Tiger-Shark to one side to avoid the shots before firing back with the missiles.

The missiles hit something explosive and the tank was ripped apart.

"There's an incoming vehicle." The radio picked up a turian signal. "Looks like an Alliance tank."

"What's it doing here?" Another turian asked.

"Who cares? Open the gates."

The gates opened and Shepard piloted the M47 inside.

The turians were wary of the new arrivals and kept their weapons aimed at the hatch. Once they saw that no Reapers were inside, they lowered their guns.

"Identify yourself." A turian General stepped forwards.

"Commander Shepard." Shepard complied.

"I shouldn't be surprised." The General muttered. "I'm General Corinthus and this mess is outpost one."

"We're here to evacuate Primarch Fedorian." Shepard explained.

"Yes, we heard that someone was coming for him." Corinthus nodded. "But this place isn't going to hold for much longer." He sighed. "Cipritine is already doomed, we're just buying time."

"Don't give up hope." Shepard told him. "If you give up hope, then the Reapers have already taken Palaven."

"Look around, Shepard." Corinthus gestured at the burning city. "What's left to hope for?"

"Cities can be rebuilt, planets can be restored." Shepard argued. "But lives cannot be replaced and that's what matters. As long as you and your men and your people live, then there is hope for the turians."

Corinthus was silent for a moment. He turned to the barricade. "Soldiers, gather round." He waited for his soldiers to arrive. "I know that it hurts to see Cipritine in ruins, our planet aflame. But Commander Shepard has reminded me why we must hold this line. Our cities may fall, our planet may die, but as long as we live the Reapers lose!" Shepard's talk had worked, Corinthus was rallying his soldiers. "We will hold this position until Shepard can evacuate the Primarch, then we will evacuate and gather survivors. But until then, we show the Reapers why they should fear the turians!"

The soldiers cheered. "For Palaven!"

"For Palaven!" Corinthus agreed. "May the spirits guide us." He turned back to Shepard. "Thank you, Commander."

"I'm leaving Lieutenant-Commander Williams and Urdnot Grunt to help you." Shepard said. "We'll be back as soon as we can. Do you have transport?"

"We've got some APCs, once we get clear of the city we can call for evac."

"Good." Shepard nodded. "We'll let you know when we've found the Primarch. Ashley, Grunt, keep them safe."

"You got it, Sir." Ashley confirmed.

Shepard re-entered the Tiger-Shark with his squad and drove onwards to the Bastion.

The Reapers only had Raloi husks out here, their ground forces were being held back.

The Bastion was huge, it wasn't as tall as a skyscraper, but it was still huge.

Something pinged off the shields. The radar detected a hostile at long range.

Shepard used the zoom function and saw something humanoid on a rooftop.

It was a drell. Or at least it had been a drell. He could see large lens over its eyes and cybernetics in its skin. It had a weapon like a rifle bonded into its skin.

Shepard fired a missile at it, blowing it off the building and down to its death.

More shots hit the Tiger-Shark. Raloi husks flew in to support the drell sniper husks.

Shepard launched more missiles at the drell, shooting down the Raloi with the machineguns.

"SITREP." He requested.

"The LZ is still secure." Tali replied. "I don't think the Reapers know we're here."

"The outpost is under attack, but we're holding." Ashley reported. "These turians sure know how to fight."

"Not as good as me." Grunt growled.

"Sure, whatever." Ashley muttered. "We're still holding."

"We're almost at the Bastion." Shepard told them. "Watch out for snipers, the Reapers are deploying drell husks."

"Oh great."

The gates of the Bastion opened and Shepard drove inside.

"Liara, stay in the Tiger-Shark." Shepard instructed. "Get ready for a quick getaway."

"Okay." Liara shuffled into the driver's seat after he left. She picked up the manual when they weren't looking.

Turian guards were waiting for the team. "Conrinthus radioed ahead." A turian in General's armour told them. "Primarch Fedorian is waiting for you." He gestured for them to follow him. "I'm General Victus." He introduced himself. "I've served under Primarch Fedorian for four years."

"We're here to evacuate him." Shepard explained.

"I know." Victus stated. "But he's busy. I'm taking you to his office."

"We really don't have time for this." Garrus whispered to Shepard.

"Just run with it for now." Shepard whispered back.

Victus led them up another flight of stairs and into an office. The Primarch was inside, gathering documents. There was a strongbox of some kind being carried by a bodyguard.

"Primarch, this is Commander Shepard." Victus announced. "He's here to evacuate you."

"One moment." Fedorian picked up another file. "We can't let the Reapers access these files, least of all that strongbox."

"What's in it?" James asked.

"Nothing that concerns you."

"Primarch, we need to leave ASAP." Garrus stated. "Reaper forces are nearly upon the Bastion, Cipritine is about to fall."

"We leave when I'm ready." Fedorian retorted icily. "None of this can fall into Reaper hands."

Shepard realised that this was going nowhere fast. He left the room and turned on his radio.

"SITREP." He requested again.

"A few Reaper scouts attacked the LZ," Tali told him. "We fought them off. Javik is a very good shot."

"Only because I am not using a primitive projectile weapon." Shepard heard Javik say.

"Don't mock my shotgun." Tali protested. "It's a good shotgun."

Shepard left them to it and listened to Ashley's report. "Ashley, SITREP."

"We're in the shit, sir!" She shouted over the noise. "Reapers are hitting us hard, Corinthus has lost ten men and we're running low on ammunition. The heavy weapons are out and we lost the last tank."

"Hang tight, we're coming." Shepard promised her. "Liara, any problems?"

"The radar's detecting incoming hostiles." Liara answered.

"How many?"

"Lots." Liara answered. "At least fifty and rising. Something's banging on the Bastion doors."

A thump reverberated through the building. Shepard entered the office again, Fedorian was almost done. Almost but not quite.

"Primarch, we're running out of time." Shepard said. "We have to go. _Now_."

Fedorian was about to protest when he saw the look in Shepard's eyes.

"Alright, Commander." He relented. "Destroy the rest of that." He told a soldier. "It's only maps."

The building shook again as they left the office.

"Shepard, the radar just picked up something big moving on your position." Liara radioed.

Shepard pulled out his rifle and aimed down the corridor. "I don't see anything." He murmured. "Check the radar again."

"Hang on." Liara was silent for a moment. "It's above you, Shepard."

He heard something cracking. "Fall back!" He shouted.

Something crashed through the ceiling and landed in front of them.

Another Reaper monster. This one had been a krogan.

It had rows of vicious spikes on its head and shoulders. There was a minigun attached to its right arm, a heavy blade on its left. It was much bigger than an ordinary krogan, it was bigger than the largest ones.

"Fall back!" Shepard yelled again. "Take cover!"

The creature raised the mingun. Victus grabbed the Primarch and dragged him behind the corner.

The minigun whirred and unleashed a storm of metal. Shepard flung himself round the corner.

The turian guards were too later and were minced before they could hide. Bluish blood stained the corridor.

"Liara, we're in trouble!" Shepard radioed urgently. "We're pinned down, can you reach us?"

"Reapers are breaking through the doors!" Liara responded. "Hundreds of them! I'm sorry, Shepard."

Shepard sighed. "It's okay, Liara. I'm sorry too." He stood up and looked at Garrus and James.

"Want to go out fighting?" James asked.

"Just like old times." Garrus added.

"Might as well." Shepard nodded. "Let's do it."

The husk was getting closer with every moment. No more waiting.

Shepard leant round the corner and opened fire.

James threw a heavy cabinet out into the corridor and took cover behind it. Garrus joined him.

The krogan husk roared and opened fire.

"Oh shit!" James yelled as projectiles shot through the cabinet. They were going through the walls too.

Shepard lobbed a grenade without looking and heard the husk growl. All he'd done was knock off a few spikes.

"Someone shut that gun up!" James shouted.

Garrus fired a concussive round at the weapon. The husk aimed and fired.

Nothing happened. Garrus had knocked the ammo belt off the gun. The husk had no hands to reattach it.

It roared and charged, swinging its blade.

Garrus and James leapt out of the way. The cabinet went flying.

The husk charged round the corner. Shepard rolled under the blade. He saw James do the same. Garrus hurled himself into the office, Victus copied his example.

The windows shattered, the wall had a long scar and there was more blood.

Shepard looked over his shoulder. The husk had just finished charging, it had nearly embedded itself in the wall. He doubted that a wall would have stopped it though.

"Primarch, get down!" Shepard shouted. The Primarch's bodyguard was dead.

The Primarch didn't respond. Shepard thought he was in shock until blood ran from his mouth.

The Primarch fell.

Two pieces fell; he had been cut in half.

"Fuck!" James swore.

Garrus stared at the bisected body. Words couldn't express what had happened.

But in simpler terms, they had just failed their mission. There was no Primarch to negotiate a truce, which meant no support from Palaven.

The odds of winning had just become much smaller.

* * *

_**Thinking about ME2, I didn't like the Praetorian and the Abomination has been replaced by the Defiler. But I liked the Scion as an enemy, so I decided to bring them back. **_

_**As for the new husks, here's the update:**_

_**Raloi husks: Terrors (Anti-infantry fliers)**_

_**Drell husks: Oppressors (Snipers)**_

_**Krogan husks: Demons (Heavy assault)**_

_**Scions mk2 provide heavy support, they act as suppressors when Shepard and his allies are in cover and anti-vehicle support when Shepard uses the Tiger-Shark. **_

_**The Reaper tanks are called Annihilators; I thought that "tank" was a bit of a boring name for them. **_

_**If anyone is unfamilar with military jargon (just in case) here's some translations:**_

_**ETA: Estimated Time of Arrival**_

_**SITREP: Situation Report**_

_**IFV: Infantry Fighting Vehicle**_

_**APC: Armoured Personnel Carrier**_

_**LZ: Landing Zone**_

_**I hope that this isn't too visceral, if anyone thinks that this story is in danger of being removed because of the gore, warn me and I'll alter it.**_


	10. Mad run

_**Sorry about the delay, I've been busy, recently strayed back into Dragon Age 2 as well. I also tend to thrive on reviews, but I haven't had many lately. **_

_**Anyway, back onto Palaven. I really hate to leave people with cliff-hangers, so sorry for the delay.**_

* * *

The krogan husk roared, as if it understood that it was victorious.

Almost victorious anyway. It still had to kill Shepard.

It charged again, Shepard narrowly managed to roll aside. He felt the blade pass a hair's breadth over his head. That was a haircut he really didn't want.

"We need to stop it!" Garrus shouted the obvious. "Aim for its legs!"

Shepard aimed and fired, ignoring training and just pulling the trigger wildly. The Valkyrie slammed against his shoulder, but the bullets found their marks.

The husk had some sort of hydraulic mechanisms in its legs, to allow it to run faster without the limitations of bone. The hydraulics were still breakable though.

The husk began to limp. It was still fast enough to be a threat, but it couldn't charge.

"We still need to end this!" James also stated the obvious.

"Concentrate fire!" Shepard shouted. The rifle kicked as he fired, aiming for the power core in its chest. The head was armoured, given time and distance he could have taken it out with a sniper rifle, but he had none of those benefits.

The roar of James' machine gun was almost deafeaning. Bullets pinged off the husk's armour, but more were hitting its core or penetrating its armour.

The husk eventually toppled and fell flat on its face. Garrus stood over it and fired a few shots into its back, just to make sure.

The husk didn't budge. It was dead, but the damage had been done.

"Damn it!" James kicked the dead husk. "We might have killed this son of a bitch, but we're still screwed."

"There are clear lines of succession." Garrus told him. "We just need to find the new Primarch."

"We're in the middle of a war here, it's not that simple."

"Maybe it is." Victus spoke suddenly. "If we can communicate with the Citadel, then they can select a new Primarch."

"Then we need to leave Palaven." Shepard reloaded his Valkyrie. He saw Victus take the strongbox and check it for damage. "What's in there?"

"It's nothing, Commander."

"It's something the Primarch was willing to die for."

"He didn't want to die, Commander." Victus said sharply. "None of us wanted this day to come."

Shepard guessed that it was something secret, maybe it was sensitive information. Whatever it was, Victus didn't want to leave it behind.

"SITREP." Shepard dropped the topic and radioed his teams.

"We've fallen back to the LZ." Ashley responded. "We lost an APC. We need two shuttles now; these turians have nowhere to go. The LZ is secure for now, but Reapers keep attacking."

"I'm still here." Liara responded. "The tank is damaged. I activated the automated repair systems, they need some time to finish repairs."

"We're on our way down." Shepard hesitated. "Primarch Fedorian is dead."

"I understand." Liara murmured. "I'm sorry; I hear that he was a good man."

"And a friend." Victus muttered.

* * *

Liara was waiting for them inside the Tiger-Shark. She slid back into the co-pilot's seat when Shepard arrived.

"Who's this?" She asked as Victus climbed in.

"General Victus." Shepard told her. "We need to talk to the Council and he needs to get whatever's in that box away from the Reapers."

Liara looked over her shoulder and glanced at the box.

"Does that contain…"

"Look, I'll tell you once we're safe from the Reapers." Victus scowled. "But yes, it does have the Primarch's will, which will tell us who is next in line."

Shepard concentrated on driving. They had no outpost to stop at, so they needed to get out of the city as quickly as possible.

More Reapers were arriving, Cipritine was just about lost.

Shepard pushed the engines to maximum power. The Reapers were burning the city down around them.

A skyscraper collapsed behind them. The Tiger-Shark was at full speed, he couldn't push it any further without risking damage. If he blew the engines they would be doomed.

"Shepard…" Liara swallowed.

"Not now, Liara." Shepard told her.

"There's a Reaper chasing us." She said it anyway.

Shepard glanced at the HUD and saw the Reaper on the rear camera display. It was a Destroyer. Shepard felt the thunder of its steps and the devastation its weapon caused. The Tiger-Shark was faster, but one hit from that beam and they would be history.

"Punch it, Shepard!" James shouted.

"I am!" Shepard retorted. "Do you want to try this?"

Shepard was moving the tank from side to side to avoid being hit. The Destroyer's beam was cutting fissures into the road. A tower began to topple in front of them.

Shepard sped ahead of it. The Destroyer just stepped over it, still firing its beam.

"We're not going to make it!" James shouted unhelpfully.

"Stop backseat driving." Garrus snapped. "Let Shepard drive."

"Hang on," Shepard yelled. "There's a jump coming!"

Part of the road had been gutted, wrenched up like a ramp. The Tiger-Shark shot into the air.

It landed, scraping some paint off the hull. Fortunately the engines didn't cut out, it kept on going.

The Destroyer was still on their tail, determined to kill them.

The city was crumbling around them. Reapers were descending from orbit and razing Cipritine to the ground. The sky was filled with thick black smoke. Burning wreckage was falling like something from Judgement Day.

"Reaper!" Liara shouted and pointed.

Now the Destroyer was the least of their problems. If the Reaper ahead stepped on them, there would be nothing left to bury.

"There's nowhere else to go." Shepard stated. "Brace yourselves."

"Oh Goddess…" Liara shut her eyes.

Shepard aimed for the clearest route he could see, right under the Reaper.

It was already firing at them, cutting the road apart and making the Tiger-Shark shake madly. The shield warning alarm beeped urgently. Now or never!

The Tiger-Shark vanished under the Reaper.

A shot missed just as the Destroyer nearly ran into the bigger Reaper. The stray shot hit it and burned a hole right through its core.

The explosion sliced a few damaged buildings in half. The Sovereign class Reaper stumbled and toppled like the skyscrapers collapsing all over Cipritine.

The Tiger-Shark only just escaped the falling Reaper. Shepard didn't stop to look back, he just kept driving onwards.

"Get the shuttles ready." He radioed. "It's going to be close."

"You want us to start leaving without you?" Cortez asked.

"Just go!"

"Yes sir." Cortez didn't argue. "Shuttle one, ready for take-off."

The Tiger-Shark zoomed into the LZ just as the first shuttle left. The Second hovered over them and activated its mag-clamp, lifting the Tiger-Shark into the sky with it.

"We've got them." Tali announced. "Let's get out of here."

"Took the words out of my mouth." James remarked.

* * *

The shuttles docked in the _Normandy's _bay. Tali's shuttle released the Tiger-Shark. Shepard drove it into a clear space and shut off the engines. A warning light was on, it had been for three minutes.

Shepard was too tired to laugh. It was a fuel warning.

"Are you okay?" He asked Liara.

"That was insane." She breathed. "Shaken but alive."

"Welcome to my world." Shepard shrugged.

He heard the hatch open. James stumbled into the shuttle bay, legs shaking from a combination of nerves and adrenaline.

"I need a drink." He muttered. "Maybe two."

Shepard forced himself to leave the Tiger-Shark too, all he wanted to do was sit down and rest.

"I'll join you." He told James. "I think we all need one."

It wasn't a celebration though.

Cipritine was lost and Palaven was suffering as badly as Earth. The turian navy was retreating, surviving to fight again.

They still had no Primarch. Victus was unwilling to open the strongbox until he was authorised to do so by the turian Councillor, the nearest thing they had to a Primarch now.

Shepard didn't want to delay; he took Victus to the briefing room and set up a link to the turian Councillor. Once he had given authorisation, Victus opened the box.

He read the Primarch's will and visibly froze for a moment.

"General?" Shepard asked.

"I'm no longer a General." Victus murmured. "Primarch Fedorian… he named me as his successor."

Shepard could see that Victus was distressed. He'd spent enough time around Garrus to read a turian's emotions.

"I know this is hard, Victus." He said. "But Fedorian had faith in you. Right now, you're Palaven's only hope of survival."

"I've only been a soldier, Shepard." Victus shook his head. "I hate politicians."

"But you'll get things done, Victus." Shepard reassured him. "This is war, who better to lead the turians in this fight than a General they respect? Don't let your friend down. Don't let your people down, Primarch."

Victus considered. "They said you have a way with words." He commented. "They were right." He closed the strongbox. "Very well, Commander. I will accept my new role. But I've seen our military fall before the Reapers. Let's face facts, Commander, we need allies."

"I agree." Shepard nodded. "What do you suggest?"

Victus didn't hesitate, a good sign that he was a strong leader who knew what was needed to win. "We need the krogan."

* * *

_**Just a gripe for Bioware: Stop adding all these new weapons and classes to multiplayer that can't used in singleplayer! Some of us don't really care about multiplayer and want a good story. **_

_**Rant over, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Next are the negotiations and the mission to Sur'Kesh, which will be longer and different. **_

_**Sorry about the shortness of this chapter, I had writer's block. I will try to do better with**__** the other chapters. **_


	11. Something worth dying for

_**This chapter will be similar/mostly ripped from its counterpart in **_**Inferno**_**, but I will add and change bits. This is mostly because I liked the mission on Sur'Kesh and partially because I wanted to upload this quickly.**_

_**Updates are going to be slower, sorry, but I'm not stopping completely.**_

* * *

"You do realise that this is going to be one of the hardest, and possibly craziest, things you've ever done?" Garrus asked.

"We're not going to win this war if the salarians, krogan and turians keep fighting each other." Shepard said. "We have no choice."

"Liara said that they've agreed to hold this meeting on Beckenstein." Garrus added. "Kind of neutral ground."

"Good." Shepard stepped up to the galaxy map. "At least they can't bring reinforcements. Make it clear that they must not bring weapons."

"Have you tried to part a krogan from a gun?" Garrus asked.

"Better safe than in pieces." Shepard shrugged. "See to it."

Garrus went back to the com room. Shepard plotted a course for Beckenstein.

It didn't take them long to arrive, the Apien Crest wasn't too far from the Citadel, which was close to Beckenstein.

The last time Shepard had been to Beckenstein, he had helped with a heist, stealing memory of all things.

Shepard arrived in a shuttle with Liara, Garrus and Grunt. Wrex had insisted on Grunt coming, which could be good or bad.

It had taken some persuasion to make the krogan attend the meeting without shotguns.

By the time they arrived, the politicians were already arguing. If you could call Wrex a politician.

The floor to ceiling window with a view over a valley hadn't turned any heads.

"I was hoping the view would calm them down." Liara murmured.

"This meeting is pointless." The Dalatras was already protesting. "Why my people allowed your… subordinate to arrange a meeting is beyond me."

She meant Liara, she had used her contacts to arrange this.

"This meeting is not about your disputes with the krogan." Victus was trying to remain impartial, Shepard had to give him credit, he was doing a good job. "This is about the real threat: the Reapers."

"Primarch Victus is right." Shepard agreed. "These problems are centuries old, they need to be forgotten."

"We can _never _forget them." The Dalatras hissed. "We raised the krogan to know war, and we had to control them."

"You mean; you had to bomb us with the genophage." Wrex growled.

"While we argue, our worlds burn." Garrus tried to join Victus in being impartial. "We need to _act_, not argue." He glanced at the salarians and the krogan. "We're here to stop the Reapers."

"Garrus is right." Grunt added. "This a fight for the krogan to join."

"Do you think that I am blind to this, Commander?" The Dalatras turned to Shepard. "I could be overseeing the defence of _my _world, and you want us to _talk_."

"Defence cannot win us a victory against the Reapers." Victus argued. "We must take the fight to them."

"Wrex, the turians are promising us support," Shepard told his krogan friend. "If you send troops to Palaven."

Wrex considered. "Perhaps, but we need something first." He grunted.

"Typical!" The Dalatras spat. "I told you these talks were pointless, Commander."

The talks began to devolve into an argument, with Wrex threatening violence. Typical politics, neither side liked the other, and what appeased one angered the other. This was getting them nowhere, Victus looked like he was about to give up.

"Enough!" Shepard slammed his fist down on the table, interrupting the squabble. "It's time to face the truth, we _all _need the krogan _and _the salarians on our side." He glared at the politicians, as if daring them to argue. "We have a chance to defeat the Reapers, and we can't squander it here." He turned to Victus. "Primarch Victus just watched his homeworld burn, I watched mine burn too. Neither of us wants to see that happen to any other world, krogan or salarian. I want this alliance for _everyone_, every world, every species. Or do you want to doom us all right now?"

Everyone fell silent, then they turned to Shepard.

"Dalatras, Wrex." He addressed them both. "It's true, we need you both. Wrex, what do you need?"

Wrex leaned forwards. "A cure for the genophage."

"Impossible." The Dalatras protested, but with a touch of fear. "There's no such thing."

"It would take years to develop a cure anyway." Victus added.

"Really?" Wrex seemed to be quite sure of himself. He turned on his omni-tool and showed them grainy footage from a handheld cam'. It showed a number of female krogan in observation modules, and some data from their biometrics. "These females are _immune _to the genophage."

"Where did you get this?"

Wrex ignored her. "A while back, a salarian scientist called Maelon grew a conscience and tried to cure the genophage."

"I remember." Shepard added. "His experiments were brutal."

"Yes, but some of his test subjects survived." Wrex explained. "They were taken by the STG." He glared at the Dalatras. "You want our help, then we need that cure."

The Dalatras looked like she was about to argue, until she noticed Liara glaring challengingly at her and the others waiting for her answer. She wasn't going to win this.

"The krogan females are being held on Sur'Kesh." She murmured. "I will clear you to land."

Shepard and the others left, but she shouted after him. "You'll regret doing this, Commander." She warned.

"I think not." Wrex grunted.

* * *

Sur'Kesh had been likened to the jungles of Earth, what was left of them, and Shepard could feel the humid air in the shuttle. He put his suit's cooling system on.

Wrex had insisted on coming with them, he was checking his shotgun.

"This is the salarian homeworld." Shepard warned him. "They aren't used to seeing krogan here. We go in, grab the females and get out, before anyone changes their minds."

Wrex snorted. "I still don't trust a word they say."

"Let diplomacy play out, Wrex." Shepard told him. "You'll get what you want."

"These females are probably the best, and last hope for my people."

Liara came in from the cockpit. "We'll get them back, Wrex." She assured him.

Wrex nodded. "I appreciate that, Liara. I wouldn't want anyone else along for the ride." Garrus cleared his throat next to Wrex. "I suppose I can make room for you too, Garrus."

"Figured you'd gone soft," Garrus laughed, "sitting on your throne, forgotten how to hold a gun."

Cortez called them from the cockpit. "Commander, I have the salarian base on sensors."

"Set her down." Shepard ordered. The shuttle flew up the base and hovered over the landing pad.

"Commander," Cortez called, "the salarians say we don't have permission to land."

"Tell them that the Dalatras authorised this herself." Shepard instructed.

Wrex however, was not so patient. "I knew they'd never keep their word." He growled, thumping the control panel. "Let's see them stop a krogan airdrop."

"Wrex!" Shepard shouted, hearing the door open.

The krogan jumped out of the shuttle, landing with a loud thud on the ground.

"We have an unauthorised landing." A loudspeaker blared.

Two salarians approached Wrex with their omni-tools. "And who authorised you to hold the future of my race hostage?" He flung the two salarians away with his biotics and pulled out his shotgun.

Targeting lasers struck his crest and face, dazzling him. Snipers were ready to fire.

Shepard and his squad jumped out of the shuttle, more salarians approached, carrying rifles.

"Halt!" One of them barked.

"Stand down," another one ran up, "hold your fire." He looked flustered. "Commander, we only found out about this transfer a few moments ago." He explained.

"I'd like to avoid a diplomatic incident." Shepard reassured him. "But you have something important to Wrex."

"Something worth dying for!" Wrex added angrily, shotgun still out.

"We can allow the transfer," the salarian agreed, "but I must insist that he remain under guard."

Wrex huffed angrily, Shepard turned to him. "I can handle this, Wrex." He said firmly.

Wrex submitted and put his shotgun away. "Anything goes wrong and all bets are off."

The salarian, Padok Wiks, shakily welcomed them to the facility. Wrex was kept under guard and a rifle sight, he was muttering something about salarians being "soft" and grumbling about being watched.

Shepard recognised a salarian in dark armour approaching. "Captain Kirrahe?"

"It's Major now." Kirrahe had helped Shepard during the assault on Virmire. That had been a long and bloody fight. "Good to see you. You too Vakarian, Dr T'Soni."

Kaiden Alenko hadn't made it off that world, he had given his life for them.

"I heard about Earth." Kirrahe continued. "Rumour has it that you're finding an edge."

"We've found some Prothean data that could help us in the fight." Shepard confirmed.

Kirrahe nodded. "Just so you know, you can count on my support for retaking Earth."

"You'd do that?"

"Think of it as returning a favour." Kirrahe explained. "I'd better let you go, the labs are down there."

An alarm blared suddenly, the salarians began to run around, grabbing guns and checking consoles.

"Unidentified ships have breached the perimeter." Padok Wiks stated. "Hurry, Commander. We'll deal with this."

* * *

It seemed that Shepard was meeting a lot of old friends today. As soon as he stepped out of the lift, he ran into another ally.

"Ah, Shepard." A salarian gabbled. "Knew you'd come. For females, yes?" Mordin Solus had been an invaluable ally in the fight against the Collectors. "Fed information to Clan Urdnot." He whispered. "Told Wrex about females."

"You're Wrex's contact?" Garrus inquired.

"Yes," Mordin confirmed. "Unfortunately, only one survived." He led them over to a large armoured box, passing a Yahg on the way.

"Nasty looking customer." Garrus muttered.

"So was the Shadow Broker." Liara added, the former Shadow Broker had been a Yahg.

Inside the armoured, shielded box was a krogan restrained on a security rig. She regarded Shepard curiously.

"Have you come here to kill me?" She asked quietly. "My sisters died in pain and suffering, have you come to do them same?"

"Tried to save them." Mordin murmured. "Unable to, sadly."

"I'm here to take you back to Tuchanka." Shepard told the krogan. "Wrex is here to get you."

The alarms began to blare. "Warning: hostiles have breached the perimeter."

Shepard's radio activated, it was Wrex. "Shepard, it's Cerberus." He informed Shepard. "They're after the females."

"Only one of them survived." Shepard told him. "I think she'll be safer down here."

"So they can kill her too?" Wrex snarled. "No deal! Get her up here now!"

Shepard turned to the salarian monitoring the pod. "We need to get her out of here."

"I can't do that." The salarian protested. "All specimens must be…" He cried out as electricity crackled through his body.

Mordin stood behind him with his omni-tool out. "Objection noted." He remarked. "Now, released krogan."

The salarian complied, not wanting another shock. Mordin stepped into the control booth inside the pod to control it.

"Shepard, meet us at next checkpoint." He instructed.

"You'll se Tuchanka again." Shepard assured the krogan. "I promise."

The squad head for the lift, pulling out their weapons and breaking into a run.

The lift descended and the doors opened.

A large cylinder in the back flashed and beeped.

"Oh crap!" Garrus swore.

"Bomb!" Shepard shouted, shoving them back.

The shockwave slammed into him and flung him and his allies to the ground.

Dazed, Shepard staggered to his feet, his friends were alright, but the lab was a mess.

He grimaced. "Come on," he ordered, "we've got a fight on our hands."

* * *

The base was in chaos.

Fires were already burning, gunfire was rattling through the facility and Cerberus shuttles were dropping off troops. Their fighters were shooting down the few gunships that the salarians had.

Shepard took point, leading his squad into the battle. Cerberus was not keen on Shepard succeeding. He knew that they were extremists, but surely they could see how this benefited Earth as well as everybody else?

Bullets whipped past, adrenaline pulsed round their systems. How they survived each fight was a mystery, but at least they managed.

"They're after the krogan!" Garrus shouted over the gunfire. "What else could they be here for?"

Liara flung another Cerberus operative into the air, Shepard took the opportunity and shot him in the chest. Cerberus seemed to be concentrating on the salarians.

The squad moved up, past some containment tanks. Cerberus troops ran in, leaving them out of cover.

One of the Yahgs suddenly leapt through the glass on its tank, grabbing the nearest Cerberus trooper and ripping him in half, he turned and beat the other one to a pulp. It would have gone Shepard, but luckily a gas pipe had ruptured and was spraying flames in front of them.

The Yahg growled and vaulted over the railings, disappearing into the jungle.

"Guess he didn't like the food." Garrus remarked.

"Something to put in our memoirs." Liara added.

Unlike the Yahg, they managed to skirt around the flames and onto the stairs.

Ahead, Mordin was maintaining the containment shields of his pod, Cerberus didn't care much about him, they were busy trying to kill the krogan female.

"Don't hit the shield." Shepard warned them, hitting a Cerberus operative in the head.

One of them turned and aimed a grenade launcher at them. Liara used her biotics to wrechn the weapon out of his hands. The operative didn't have much time to scream as several bullets slammed into him.

"Shepard, always on time." Mordin babbled from inside the pod. "Need approval to continue."

Shepard began to tap commands into the console. "Are you okay?"

Mordin checked the holographic display. "Containment shield is holding." He informed them. "Can't speak for krogan's health however."

"I am fine, Commander." The krogan murmured, she was much quieter than Wrex or Grunt.

"Cerberus desperate to kill her." Mordin continued. "Without krogan-turian alliance, Reapers left unchallenged."

"We'll do more than challenge them." Shepard stated, sending the pod on its way.

"Shepard, next checkpoint." Mordin instructed. "Cerberus likely to target…"

The pod shuddered suddenly as something exploded. A Cerberus shuttle hovered behind it, two soldiers fired their rifles at Shepard as the pod left.

"Shepard, next checkpoint!" Mordin repeated insistently.

"Orion squad, target acquired." One of the troopers relayed to his team.

Garrus popped over cover and shot him with his Vindicator. The man toppled and fell out of the shuttle. A burst from Liara's SMG riddled the other one with slugs.

The shuttle flew away, unlike the Alliance shuttles, it lacked weapons.

Shepard and his squad moved on, coming across a group of salarians under fire. The three of them assisted the salarians as best they could.

"Shepard, get cracking!" Wrex flew by in the shuttle, firing the cannons at a Cerberus gunship, another one was on his tail. "I'll try to draw their fire."

"He's taking on gunships in a shuttle?" Liara exclaimed.

"Like they would say," Garrus popped the thermal clip on his rifle, "he's got a quad."

They moved fast, taking out anything in their way.

"Someone must have tipped them off." Garrus muttered. "No way they'd find out about this so quickly."

"Every war has its traitors." Liara agreed.

The next door opened, a Cerberus trooper prepared to fire, only for a varren to pounce on him and rip into his throat. Another trooper shot the varren, only to end up being shot by Shepard.

"Hostiles ahead!" Garrus shouted.

"More up top!" Liara added. "Maybe we can take the high ground."

Shepard activated his omni-tool and faded from view, one of the perks of being an Infiltrator meant that he had an advanced cloaking system. "I'm headed up top." He spoke into his radio, quietly.

He snuck up one of the troopers firing on his squad's position and stabbed him with the omni-blade. Another trooper saw this and fired.

Shepard dislodged himself quickly and took cover, the bullets slammed into the stabbed trooper and finished him off.

Shepard pulled out his SMG and fired it blind over cover, hearing a cry of pain. He jumped up and finished the job before pulling out his rifle again.

"That did it." Garrus called. "We're clear."

Shepard bypassed the next door's circuitry, Cerberus was trying hard to stop them. Mordin's pod was under fire, again. Once again, Shepard and his team entered the carnage. Cerberus had been too concerned with Mordin and the krogan, mowing the troopers down wasn't difficult.

"Affinity for destruction intact Shepard." Mordin remarked. "Need to clear us."

Shepard activated the console and began to type in commands, it might have been easier if it wasn't all in salarian.

"How are you holding up?" He asked.

"Containment shield strong," Mordin nodded, "but not designed for direct fire."

The krogan regarded Shepard curiously. "This truce must be important to you."

"Everyone's survival depends on this." Shepard told her. The pod began to ascend.

"Hurry, Shepard." Mordin pointed up. "Next checkpoint."

More Cerberus troops entered, announcing that they had found the krogan, only to blunder into the mine that Garrus had put there, anticipating them. They made quite a mess.

"Shepard, I can't fly around forever." Wrex reminded him.

"The female's on her way up." Shepard told him.

"If you pull this off, I'm making you an honorary krogan."

Shepard wasn't sure about that, Tuchanka was somewhat radioactive; Wrex forgot that most species had an issue with nuclear fallout.

As they rounded the next corner, they saw Major Kirrahe beat down a Cerberus trooper. There were more of them waiting around the corner.

"Commander, stay back." Kirrahe warned.

"Is there an easier way around?" Shepard asked.

Kirrahe vented some heat from the pistol he was carrying. "You could say that." He slid out of cover and fired his pistol, hitting the Cerberus troops. The gun fired some sort of sticky bomb.

The Cerberus troopers couldn't dislodge them in time, they were blown to pieces.

"How do I not have one of those?" Garrus wondered aloud.

More Cerberus troops arrived. "Go Commander," Kirrahe shouting, picking up a fallen rifle. "I'll cover you."

One of the Cerberus troopers put down a round object and fiddled with his omni-tool. "Orion squad, your orders are to hold position and delay the enemy." One of them instructed. The object suddenly deployed a tripod and a box shot up. It was a turret. Clever.

The turret began to rattle off rounds, riddling the walkway with slugs.

"Garrus," Shepard shouted, "flank the turret!"

The turian nodded and snuck out of cover whilst the others covered him. Garrus slipped behind the turret and used his omni-tool to overload it, critically.

He ducked as the turret exploded, killing the engineer and sending wreckage flying.

Shepard and Liara picked off the dazed Cerberus troops.

"Pleasure to watch you work, Commander." Kirrahe commented.

* * *

They approached the final checkpoint, near the landing pad.

"Mordin, where are you?" Shepard radioed.

"Almost there." Mordin responded. "Clear area, Cerberus likely to spring an ambush."

Something hit the floor at Shepard's feet.

"You're right." He tried to locate the sniper. "Stay put."

"Don't move, Commander." A woman's voice ordered. A figure appeared out of thin air. A cloak, it looked like Cerberus had improved them.

The woman was in her mid-thirties, with cropped hair and heavy Cerberus armour. She was carrying an M99 Sabre and had, of all things, a bowie knife on her belt.

"A friend of ours wants to talk." She stated. "Before you try anything, there are three men with M-333 particle beams aimed at you." She showed them a holo-drone and deployed it.

The drone revealed a hologram of the Illusive Man.

"Shepard, I really must congratulate you on your persistence." The Illusive Man said.

"What do you want?"

"I want you to stop."

"I'm not going to." Shepard frowned. "I'm going to destroy the Reapers, with or without you."

"Shepard, that is why I am not helping you." The Illusive Man lit a cigarette, it was too much to hope that the damn things would kill him. "Destroying the Reapers is one of the worst mistakes we could ever make. You see something to destroy, I see something to control. We can use their power for our benefit."

"That's what you said about the Collector base."

"Yes, you demonstrated your short sightedness there too." The Illusive Man exhaled a lungful of smoke. "You were a valuable asset, Shepard. But you betrayed me."

"I take it that this is another asset?" Shepard gestured at the woman.

"How rude of me, I forgot to introduce you two." The Illusive Man smiled. "This is Bel Niles, one of my best operatives. I have three of them running around, you might get to meet them."

"I hope not." Shepard grimaced. "What have you done with the data from Mars?"

"I have my best deciphering it now." The Illusive Man answered. "It could help us to control the Reapers."

"Or destroy them. We shouldn't be fighting each other." Shepard argued. "If you want Earth to survive, then help me. Help us to stop the Reapers."

"You'd do better than most, Shepard." The Illusive Man admitted. "But the odd are not in your favour. I cannot allow you to destroy the Reapers. All I need you to do is wait, Ms. Niles has called for reinforcements to secure you for transport."

"So, all I have to do is wait?" Shepard said.

"Yes."

"Like I'm waiting for Wrex and his shotgun."

"He won't arrive in time." Niles stated. "Our gunships are still chasing him.

"I could always wait a little longer for his shotgun."

"You're amusing me, Shepard." The Illusive Man chuckled. "Is this the best you can do?"

"Wrex…"

"I know, stop that already." Wrex hissed. "Duck."

Shepard heard the shuttle before he saw it. "Down!" He yelled.

Wrex's shuttle flew over the landing pad and opened fire. Wrex jumped out, leaving Cortez to fly.

The Cerberus soldiers carrying the beam guns were eviscerated by the shuttle's cannons.

Niles cloaked and slipped into cover. She opened fire, the Sabre had a low rate of fire, but it was very powerful.

Shepard gestured for Garrus to flank her and suppressed her with his Valkyrie.

Garrus crept along the side and lobbed a grenade at Niles.

Niles cloaked again and slipped away. Liara spotted her and launched a biotic attack. The warp damaged her armour and the cloaking system.

Niles swore and rolled behind a low wall. She lobbed a grenade, forcing Shepard and Liara out of cover.

Shepard saw her charging towards him, her knife drawn. He lifted his rifle and blocked the knife.

Wrex barged into her, knocking Shepard and Niles down.

Niles drew her handgun and fired at Wrex, making him stagger. She used the seconds to vault over the balcony.

Wrex snorted. "Waste of time, she's gone." He glanced at Shepard. "What was with all that shotgun crap?"

"I couldn't think of anything better to say." He admitted. "Mordin, bring the female up."

Mordin's lift reached the checkpoint. He opened the cubicle and let the female out.

Courteously, he offered her his hand.

Wrex nudged him aside and held out his. "Let's get you out of here."

The female ignored them both and stepped out.

"Target acquired!" Cerberus troopers ran around the corner.

The krogan snatched Mordin's handgun and shot the troopers with it. "I can handle myself."

Wrex stared after her. "Women." He remarked and followed her to the shuttle.

Shepard heard one of the troopers groan. He advanced on the soldier with his handgun drawn.

"We…" The trooper was dying.

Shepard crouched down. "Why is Cerberus here?" He asked. "Who told you about this place?"

The trooper coughed, it was a grisly hacking sound. Judging from the chest wound, he was coughing up blood.

The trooper didn't move or speak again. He was dead.

Shepard shook his head and walked to the shuttle. His mind was filled with unanswered questions.

There was one certainty though: Cerberus was now an enemy.

* * *

_**I'm trying to improve the Cerberus troops, here's a list of current ones.  
**__**Hoplites: Standard troops, armed with Harriers  
**__**Centurion: Armed with M-100 grenade launchers  
**__**Dominator: Heavy support soldier armed with M-333 particle beam gun, which appears in **_**Infiltrator **_**as a heavy weapon. **_

_**Guardians will show up, but not with shields. Since Call of Duty and Uncharted and some other games, riot shield type enemies are not original any more. I'm keeping the Engineers though, they're good as support troops.**_

_**Bel Niles will appear again, there are two other assassins. Kai Leng is one of them; I don't think the Illusive Man would put all his eggs in one basket so to speak. **__**Next up are the Tuchanka missions, they might take a while for me to write. **_

_**By the way, the shotgun bit is a reference to **_**Red Vs Blue Revelations_, my favourite _RVB _series. _**

_**Once again, my thanks to ParagonParadox for support and ideas, keep them coming. **_


	12. Desperate measures

_**I apologise for the very long delay, I've been busy with other projects. I'm also waiting for **_**Leviathan **_**to be released, hoping that it might make the endings better. I have played the extended cut, but it still doesn't feel right, like it shouldn't be part of Mass Effect. In my opinion, it shouldn't have been needed in the first place. **_

_**Bioware had better not mess up Dragon Age 3. They're walking on thin ice.**_

* * *

"You have what you want Wrex," Victus grated. "Now it's your turn to help."

"I want a cure for the genophage." Wrex stated. "Is it cured yet?"

Victus didn't respond.

"Then no krogan are going to Palaven." Wrex growled. "When are you going to start work?"

"Already begun." Mordin answered. "Blood sample from healthy male krogan needed."

"You're looking at it."

"Excellent." Mordin nodded. "Meet me in the med-bay, Eve will be there too."

"Eve?" Shepard frowned.

"Female has no name. This is a human ship, name from human creation myth seemed appropriate." Mordin babbled. "Recommend talking to her, different perspective."

Mordin walked out, leaving with Wrex.

"I hope this cure doesn't backfire." Victus muttered.

The doors opened again and Liara entered. She was excited about something.

"Shepard, I've made a breakthrough." She announced hurriedly. She activated the holographic projector and inserted an OSD.

The display showed a Sovereign class Reaper. As they watched, labels began to appear, pointing at different parts of the Reaper.

"The Protheans were able to find several weaknesses in the Reaper they captured." Liara explained. "However, these won't be enough to destroy the entire fleet." She pointed at a label near the Reaper's "head" or at least the closest thing it had to one. "But this is the key. The Protheans created a signal that uses their communications. I'm still not sure how it works, but it effectively leaves a Reaper blind and vulnerable, it takes down their defences."

"Allowing us to exploit their weaknesses." Victus guessed.

"Correct." Liara agreed. "But there's more. In the data I could decipher, it mentions that there may be a way to destroy the Reapers almost simultaneously, across the whole galaxy."

"Are you talking about a super-weapon?" Shepard asked.

"Whatever it is, it has something to do with the Mass Relays." Liara said. "But that's risky. We're talking about the most powerful Mass Effect engines in the galaxy."

"And if this weapon or signal damages or destroys them," Victus paused. "We'd lose the Relays and possibly destroy more than the Reapers ever could."

"There's still more to decipher." Liara shrugged. "Destroying the Relays is… drastic."

"Too drastic, and out of the question." Shepard agreed. "But this information is useful; at least we know how to kill one in conventional combat. Good work Liara."

"Commander, there's a message from Commander Hall." Traynor notified him.

"Thanks, Traynor." Shepard said. Victus and Liara left the room, leaving him to take the message.

The hologram showed a battered but alive Sarah Hall. Her armour was covered in dirt and there was a burn on the side of her neck.

"Well," she shrugged. "One of us still looks good."

"Are you okay?" Shepard asked.

"I'm fine." Sarah checked the Vindicator she was carrying. "We arrived in France a few days ago. Lost twenty people, but we've got no shortage of volunteers. We all know what's at stake. There will be no surrender."

"How is Earth?"

"Bad. I can't sugar coat it." Hall sighed. "We've lost contact with several major cities; they seem to be the main targets. According to refugees, we've lost London, Washington DC, Berlin and Beijing. Russia seems to be holding, for now."

"Are you going there too?"

"No, we're going south." Hall shook her head. "We're going to Italy. The Reapers are hitting it in force. We don't know why, there are bigger targets out there. By the way, are you really trying to get an alliance with the turians and the krogan?"

"Yes." Shepard answered. "How did you know?"

"We pick up bits of radio chatter." Sarah explained. "You've got a lot of fans out here, every bit of news we hear about you and _Normandy _gives us hope. It keeps us going, even though the Reapers have us outmatched and outgunned."

"This data might help you to fight them." Shepard sent the diagrams to Hall. "It shows some weaknesses in their design."

Hall glanced at her terminal, somewhere off to the right. "Perfect." She smiled. "This will give us an edge. It'll save a few lives at least. I'll let you get back to saving the galaxy. Good luck, Shepard."

"Same to you, Sarah."

* * *

It didn't take them very long to reach the Aralakh system. But it would take a while to reach Tuchanka.

"All hands stop!" Joker called over the intercom. "There's a Cerberus fleet over Tuchanka."

Shepard hurried into the cockpit. Joker pointed at the problem.

There were at least fifty Cerberus ships, several frigates, a few cruisers and a dreadnaught over the planet. They were fighting the krogan ships defending the planet.

"How the hell did Cerberus get a dreadnaught?" Joker wondered aloud.

"Cerberus has substantial resources." EDI explained. "However, the dreadnaught is similar to its Alliance counterpart; Cerberus probably stole an Alliance ship while it was under construction and finished it themselves."

"Bastards." Joker muttered. "That ship could have been used to defend Earth."

"They never were team players." Shepard agreed. "We need to distribute that cure. Get ready for a combat drop."

"Aye, aye."

Shepard walked back to the briefing room and gathered his allies. The holographic display was already active.

"Mordin, is the cure ready?" Shepard asked.

"Almost, original strain required." Mordin answered quickly. "Suitable transmission vector needed too."

"Can you manage?"

"Enjoy work, Shepard." Mordin babbled. "Even under pressure."

"At least you can put your knife away now." Wrex grumbled.

"Fear understandable." Mordin chattered. "Common phobia; fear of needles."

"Whatever." Wrex was embarrassed. "Cerberus is hitting Tuchanka in force. They've deployed hundreds of troops and heavy armour."

"How can they have that many troops?" Ashley inquired.

"Cerberus uses Reaper implants on abducted civilians." EDI told them. "This allows them to make effective soldiers without months of training. As for their technology, they have advanced due to unrestrained research."

"The biggest problem, and I mean the biggest," Wrex tapped some commands into the holographic projector. "Is this."

The hologram now showed a tall structure, curved like the blade of a knife, with a large object in front of it. The second object was very tall, standing on four legs. It was still smaller than the knife shaped structure though. Shepard could see the cockpit, tiny compared to the rest of the mech. He could also see that it was bristling with weapons.

"This thing is decimating anything that tries to get close." Wrex said. "It's protecting that salarian tower for some reason."

"The Shroud!" Mordin was suddenly elated. "Of course! The salarians built the Shroud to repair Tuchanka's atmosphere, also used by turians to distribute genophage."

Wrex glared at Victus.

"Let it go, Wrex." Victus wasn't intimidated.

"Yes, please do." Mordin agreed. "Shroud useful now. Original strain should be storage; the Shroud is also the perfect delivery. It can fill the atmosphere with the cure."

"You clever little pyjack." Wrex almost grinned. "What about that mech?"

"According to my database, it is a Hyperion class assault mech." EDI announced. "A prototype made for long range combat. If a small force can get close enough, its weapons should be less effective."

"Less effective?" Garrus repeated uncertainly.

"Correct." EDI acknowledged. "There is a weak point underneath the mech, where it deploys troops."

"You want us to run underneath the heavily armed and armoured mech?"

"What choice do we have?" Liara countered.

"Primarch, what support can you provide?" Shepard asked.

Victus didn't respond at first. "Not much." He stated. "Our losses on Palaven have been… extreme."

"This is for Palaven." Shepard told him.

"What do you need?"

Shepard took the projector. "Here's the plan." He began. "We'll secure a foothold for krogan ground forces. Once the turians arrive, they'll assist the _Normandy _by destroying the Cerberus ships and will provide air support. How tough is that mech?"

"Cerberus is using Reaper technology." EDI said. "The mech likely has armour and shields that can withstand most conventional weapons."

"So we're going to need as much firepower as we can gather." Shepard continued. "Wrex, you need to unite the krogan clans before the turians arrive. Once they reach Tuchanka, we'll begin a three pronged assault on the Shroud. Team one will engage Cerberus forces on the field and keep the mech busy."

"Then I'll lead them." Wrex declared.

"I thought you would. Team two will be an air support unit, led by Joker."

"Thanks." Joker interrupted. "I think."

"Team three will move around the left flank and enter the Shroud facility." Shepard continued. "We need Mordin and Eve to accompany us. If that mech is still standing by the time we arrive, we'll try to disable or destroy it. Any questions?"

No-one spoke. This was pretty much a fight or die scenario.

"Joker, prepare for landing."

As the others left the briefing room, the intercom buzzed.

"Commander, there's an incoming message marked as urgent." Traynor informed him. "I'm connecting you now."

Shepard was left alone as the hologram changed to show the Dalatras. Not a good sign.

"Commander, we know you have reached Tuchanka." She stated. "We know that Mordin has suggested using the Shroud."

"Are you spying on us?" Shepard frowned.

"Hardly. It's the only course of action available." The salarians stated. "Do you really think that the krogan will help you once you cure them?"

"Wrex has given his word." Shepard argued. "He knows what's at stake."

"Do you, Commander?" The Dalatras challenged. "Once the krogan are cured, they will breed out of control and will decimate the galaxy."

"The genophage has gone on for long enough." Shepard didn't back down. "Ending it is the right thing to do."

"Really, Commander?" She was starting to irritate him now. "Before you act rashly, I have a proposal. One that you can't ignore." Shepard didn't interrupt, so she continued. "Stop the cure and the salarian fleet is yours. The Shroud was designed to distribute the genophage. Mordin will attempt to hack the system to allow his cure to enter the atmosphere. Do not let him."

"Are you telling me to kill my friend?"

"One life in exchange for an entire fleet." The Dalatras reasoned. "Think about it, Commander. You know what the right choice is."

The hologram shut down. Shepard wasn't sure about this deal.

He wanted to cure the genophage, but krogan were dangerous at the best of times.

"All hands, we're approaching Tuchanka." Joker announced. "Suicide run number five is underway, hold onto your bowels."

* * *

Shepard met his allies in the hanger a few minutes later, wearing his armour and carrying his weapons. There were several turian soldiers in the bay, Victus' elite, the Ninth Platoon.

"I managed to get a call out to the clans." Wrex announced. "They're gathering in the Hollows."

"It's an old missile silo." Liara explained. "Neutral ground for the krogan."

"Once they learn about the cure, we can unite to fight the Reapers." Wrex sounded excited. "This will be the defining moment of krogan history."

"Krogan history full of defining moments. Most bloody." Mordin muttered. "Hope this one is better."

Eve was regarding Shepard curiously. "Commander, you seem troubled."

"Shepard?" Liara had also noticed. "Is something wrong?"

Shepard considered. In the end, he barely hesitated. "I was…"

Unfortunately, he didn't finish. The _Normandy _began to shake and a thud reverberated through the hull.

"Cerberus has set up AA guns!" Joker called. "We can't deploy shuttles."

"Drop us in the Tiger-Shark." Shepard opened the tank's hatch. "We'll clear an LZ. Ashley, Javik, you're with me."

"That's really mad, Shepard." Joker warned as they shut the hatches. "You're dropping into a warzone."

"Jeff is correct." EDI agreed. "Krogan forces are already engaging Cerberus troops."

"Drop us anyway." Shepard ordered. "We need to lose those AA guns ASAP."

"Hold onto something." Joker muttered.

"Descent commencing." The M47's computer stated. "In three… two… one."

The tank shuddered and dropped from the clean cargo bay into the swirling, slightly radioactive sandy air of Tuchanka.

The tank shuddered suddenly. Impact and proximity warnings were beeping madly.

Shepard saw something explode ahead of them. Flak.

He could also see the Cerberus guns below, large cannons pointing up at the sky.

Krogan tanks and tomkahs were engaging in vicious battles with Atlas and YMIR mechs.

Tuchanka had always been a battlefield, but this was even bloodier.

Cerberus didn't want the genophage cured because the krogan would be a big threat to them and the Reapers.

The tank activated its landing jets and settled just behind the krogan lines. Wrex had obviously told them that the _Normandy _crew were allies; the krogan didn't fire at them.

"Commander, Cerberus has three AA guns." EDI radioed. "We will deploy shuttles as soon as they have been destroyed."

"Copy that." Shepard replied. "We're going in."

"Are these Cerberus allied with the Reapers?" Javik inquired.

"More or less." Ashley shrugged.

"Then they will join the Reapers in oblivion."

Cerberus was only using infantry to defend the guns and to support their mechs.

Shepard lined up a shot at the nearest Atlas and put a cannon round through its pilot. For all their shields and armour, they were only really good against infantry; they were no match for armoured vehicles.

The krogan were slowly pushing forwards. It seemed that the defensive line Cerberus was holding was only meant to delay them.

That meant they had an ace up their sleeves.

Shepard decided to worry about it later, aiming and taking down a pair of YMIR mechs.

"Forget about killing them all," Ashley gestured at the first AA gun. "Let the krogan handle them, waste the guns!"

Shepard took her advice and moved in closer. The AA guns were heavily armoured, he needed to find a weak spot.

"EDI, any weaknesses in the guns?" He radioed.

"These are MD-341 Orthrus cannons." EDI told him. "They are designed to deploy quickly. Once deployed, they are extremely hardy, but a power conduit at the back of the weapon is exposed."

"Perfect." Shepard located the conduit on the targeting computer. "Thanks EDI."

"Cerberus troops are coming." Ashley pointed at the squad of soldiers running out to stop them.

It wasn't fair. For Cerberus anyway.

Shepard switched to the machine guns and mowed them down before they could fire.

Before they could summon more soldiers, he drove around to the back of the Orthrus and opened fire on the power conduit.

The gun ceased aiming at the sky. Shepard had expected an explosion, but the gun just tilted towards the ground. It had no power.

The krogan could take it or finish it off later; there were still two more left to disable.

"Shepard, Cerberus is deploying heavier mechs to stop you." EDI warned.

Shepard saw something stamp over the sandy ridge. It looked like an Atlas, only bigger and with more armour.

There was no claw, both arms had an auto-cannon attached. There were rocket launchers on its shoulders and machine guns mounted beneath the cannons. Its cockpit was made of solid metal, unlike the Atlas. This meant that it had decreased visibility, but killing the pilot would be much harder.

"Hostile identified as Prometheus anti-tank battlemech." The Tiger-Shark's computer kept track of targets it had identified. "Caution is advised."

The mech opened fire, gutting a tomkah with a few shots.

This wasn't a good time to put the M47's shields to the test; its speed would hopefully allow them to evade the Prometheus.

The Prometheus fired its missile. They were heat seekers, unlike the Tiger-Shark's lock-on missiles.

Shepard swerved to the left and the missiles soared over the tank and exploded harmlessly in the sand.

Shepard fired the missiles. He wasn't trying to prove that they were better, which they were, he didn't need to aim them. Just fire and forget.

The missiles slammed into the Prometheus. The mech barely faltered, bringing its cannons round and firing at the tank. Sand leapt up as Shepard drove the Tiger-Shark to the right, firing the machine guns at the Prometheus. He kept an eye on the HUD; it told him how much damage the Prometheus was taking.

The shields went down. Shepard paused and fired the cannon.

The M47 Tiger-Shark prototypes had originally been armed with the standard high explosive rounds used by M35 Makos. But this one was armed with armour piercing shells designed to explode a second after they had hit something, just after they had penetrated armour. In other words, it was an oversized anti-materiel rifle with exploding bullets.

The shell hit the cockpit, impaled the pilot and exploded. The mech was gutted, bits of flesh flew out of the smoking Prometheus. It had been a powerful machine, now it was scrap metal.

Shepard didn't pause to inspect his handiwork, he never did. He swung by the second AA gun and riddling its power conduit with slugs.

"Two guns down." Ashley stated. "One to go."

"Take it out and we can start this crash this party." Joker added.

"Heads up!" Ashley pointed. "Another Prometheus!"

"Commander, the turians have arrived." Victus radioed. "They're engaging the Cerberus ships in orbit."

The second Prometheus was already under fire. The krogan had sent two of their tanks forwards. They were a bit primitive, but they were solid and very dangerous.

Shepard fired the missiles. The third pair made the mech stumble. The krogan tanks fired again, the sheer force of their explosive shells made the mech fall over.

That was the end of it. Like sharks closing in for the feast, the tanks moved closer and fired a volley into the helpless mech, blasting it into pieces.

The last Orthrus AA gun was also easy prey. Shepard drove the Tiger-Shark around to its back and blew the conduit apart.

He'd felt safe in the Mako, agile in the Hammerhead, now that the Tiger-Shark had proved its worth he felt invincible sitting in its armoured hull.

"Joker, the guns are down." Ashley radioed.

"We're coming in." Joker responded. "Deploying shuttles in two minutes. Nice work, Commander."

* * *

_**The battle plan was suggested by Sentuis (Paragon Paradox). **_

_**Since this is an AU, and it's been recommended that I put in what I would have liked in the game, then there will be more weapons and missions. Let me know what you think.**_

_**If you're impressed by the Tiger-Shark, you'll be glad to know that it gets even better during the story.**_

_**As you may have guessed, any new Cerberus toys I put in this story are named after creatures or characters from the Greek Myths, seems appropriate.**_


	13. A future for the krogan

_**I've finished Leviathan, along with a playthrough with that DLC. Don't hold your breaths though. Whilst Leviathan is a decent DLC with new upgrades and guns, it DOESN'T change the ending at all. It adds a few more lines of dialogue, a war asset or two, but otherwise nothing changes. I will integrate it into this story and add bits, as usual, I have bigger plans for the mission in general.**_

* * *

By the time the _Normandy _and turian shuttles had landed, the Cerberus ships were withdrawing. They weren't retreating to the Mass Relay, they were moving towards the Shroud, probably to provide orbital support for the troops guarding it. The turians were in pursuit.

Once Wrex had arrived, and commandeered a tomkah, they drove to the Hollows.

Liara had been right about its past, but she hadn't mentioned the size of the place.

Shepard wondered how many missiles it had stored, and how big they had been.

The place could store hundreds of old Earth ICBMs and have room to spare for a few more.

Now it was where the krogan clans gathered when they weren't fighting each other.

They didn't meet here very often.

The Hollows had a floor now; the krogan had no need for the old silo. They had new ones and planetary defence cannons.

There was still a deep pit in the centre, with a raised platform. According to Liara, that was where they cremated the dead. Provided they could recover the bodies and there was enough to cremate.

Perhaps curing the genophage would change the krogan. It was a lot to hope for.

But even if didn't, Mordin had ran the numbers again and again and had come to one conclusion.

If the genophage wasn't cured, the krogan would slowly die out. Given fifty years at the least, and one hundred at the most, they would be extinct.

"This is a day worth singing about!" Wrex shouted as they entered the Hollows. "Cerberus blood has been spilled on our soil." There was a roar of approval from the krogan clans. "Now we must spill the blood of the Reapers!"

No roaring this time. The krogan had little interest in fighting another galactic menace.

They began to roar again. But in anger this time. They had noticed the aliens following Wrex.

"What is going on here, Wrex?" A large krogan wearing grey armour stomped up them. He looked a bit like Wrex, with similar clan markings. "What are turians doing here? And humans? And asari?" He noticed Mordin and reached for his shotgun. "Salarians too? Weapons!"

He didn't manage to draw the shotgun. Wrex lunged forwards and head-butted him. The other krogan stumbled and the clans roared with a mix of delight and anger.

"Enough, Wreave!" Wrex growled. "This salarian is here to cure the genophage."

"And I'm supposed to believe that?" Wreave shouted angrily. "His kind gave us the genophage!"

"I made a mistake." Mordin explained. "Too many variables. Only saw big picture. Big picture made of little pictures. Genophage leads to extinction; time to cure it."

"You can't trust outsiders!" Wreave bellowed. "Wrex has always been soft! Now he's going to kill us all!"

"Enough!" They all paused, looking at the gates. Eve had entered the Hollows. "You can let old wounds fester as krogan have always done." She stepped past Wreave, ignoring his glare. "Or you can fight the enemy we were meant to destroy and win our future. I choose to fight! Who is with me?"

Shepard stepped forwards. "I am."

"And so am I!" Wrex agreed. "Now hold your heads high like true krogan! It's time to end the genophage once and for all!"

The krogan roared again, but this time they were united.

Wrex was right. It was time to end the genophage.

* * *

The assault began in an hour.

A large column of tomkahs and krogan tanks were in the centre, accompanied by turian Whirlwind tanks and infantry from both races. The right flank was the air unit; turian and krogan fighter squadrons led by the _Normandy_.

The left flank was the important one, even if it was small. Led by the Tiger-Shark, it consisted of three tomkahs carrying krogan soldiers, Mordin, Wrex, Eve and Victus.

Shepard was in one of the tomkahs, the one carrying Mordin, Wrex, Eve and Victus. Garrus was driving the Tiger-Shark for the moment.

"Commander, Joker here, we're closing in on the Shroud." Joker radioed. "That mech's still waiting."

"Any news from orbit?" Shepard asked.

"The Cerberus ships are down." Joker answered. "Don't count on orbital support though, Cerberus has control of the ground to space cannons around the Shroud. Won't be a problem for us though."

"Wreave isn't the only one who wants revenge." Eve warned Wrex. "You'll have to placate them somehow."

"I'll ask the Council for some of our old worlds back." Wrex said.

"You don't want to start another war, Wrex."

"I think that defeating the Reapers is worth a world for the krogan." Shepard said.

"Or ten." Wrex smirked. "You haven't seen how fast we can pop them out."

Mordin glanced at Shepard. "Shepard, you seem troubled." He observed. "Battle? No, you do not fear war. What is it?"

Shepard decided to give them the truth. He'd helped them this far, he wasn't going to stab them in the backs. "The Dalatras contacted me." He told them. "With an offer."

"Let me guess," Wrex rumbled. "Stop the cure and get the salarian fleets?"

"Did you hear?" Shepard asked.

"No." Wrex grunted. "It was just a hunch."

"Interesting." Mordin murmured. "What else?"

"She told me to stop you when you hack the Shroud's systems." Shepard explained. "She wanted me to kill you."

"That would be unfortuneate. Good friends, would hate to betrayed." Mordin said. "Hack system though? Ah, failsafe. Sabotage to prevent cure dispersal. Can be fixed. Thank you, Shepard, would have failed without your honesty."

"You have spared our race another genocide, Commander." Eve said. "Thank you."

The tomkah rattled and stopped.

"What now?" Wrex groaned. "Why are we stopping?"

Shepard opened the hatch and jogged up to the Tiger-Shark. He thumped the hatch.

Liara opened it. "Is there a problem?"

"Yes, why have we stopped?" Shepard asked.

"Look." She pointed. "These ruins are blocking our path."

Shepard saw the problem now. But "ruins" was an understatement.

It was a city. A big one too. At least ten miles across and twenty miles wide.

"Wrex, there's a city in our way." Shepard radioed.

"Commander, that's the city of the Ancients." Eve explained. "No-one has seen it for centuries."

"Is there a way through?"

"No maps exist."

"Damn it." Shepard shook his head. "Teams two and three, we've been delayed. Hold position."

"Hurry it up!" Wreave snapped. "We're taking artillery fire over here!"

"Copy that, Commander." Joker responded. "We'll just sit here. Quietly."

Shepard climbed inside the Tiger-Shark and took the controls. There was a tunnel ahead, leading down into the earth.

Shepard turned on the lights and drove inside. The tomkahs followed them in.

"This place is incredible!" Liara breathed.

She had a point. The city was unlike any krogan settlements Shepard had ever seen.

The walls were covered in murals and paintings, mostly of krogan warriors. There were bronze statues along the passageway, more krogan.

"Krogan were artistic?" Garrus wondered. "Makes a change from the all the rubble."

"I heard that." Wrex muttered. "What else can you see?"

"Not much." Shepard had turned the lights up to their highest setting. The engines were kicking up a lot of dust too. "Stay close."

"Any closer and we'd be ramming you."

This was a bad idea. Shepard was blind without a map. Crashing wouldn't do much damage, he was driving slowly, but they were against the clock. If they lost their way then the krogan forces would be wiped out.

"EDI, can you see us?" Shepard asked suddenly.

"I can detect the M47's signature."

"Can you give us directions?"

"One moment." EDI paused. "I have calculated a route that will lead to the surface. Uploading directions to your vehicle."

The computer beeped, showing EDI's map.

"Thanks, EDI." Shepard carefully steered right; the tunnel was barely wide enough for the Tiger-Shark.

"We can barely fit through here!" One of the krogan drivers complained.

"Stop whining and drive." Wrex ordered. "We're not stopping now."

It took them twenty minutes to leave the tunnels. They were still in the city, but at least they could see now.

"Amazing," Liara murmured. "The architecture is impressive. There are plants here too."

"Krogan built _this_?" Garrus was just as impressed. "Maybe they can be this great again once the genophage is cured."

"You're looking at hope." Eve announced. "What's left of it on Tuchanka."

"I would have loved to study this place." Liara was still amazed by the city.

The place was enormous. Shepard wondered why nobody had rediscovered it until now.

There were towering pyramidal structures across the city. There were canals and aqueducts, still functioning, to carry water across the city. The place obviously had its own spring.

"Very little radiation." Garrus noticed. "This place is practically unscathed."

"This would be a good place for the krogan to start again." Liara said.

The ground shook suddenly. The convoy ground to a halt.

"Earthquake?" Garrus glanced at the computer.

"Negative." EDI had noticed. "But there is a large heat signature moving under your position."

"How big?"

"Enormous." EDI stated. "I cannot determine its full size."

"They say that Kalros, the mother of all Thresher Maws, lives in this region." Eve explained. "She protected this city."

"The mother of all Thresher Maws?" Liara echoed shakily.

"When the krogan name a Thresher Maw, you know that it's deadly," Garrus said. "They don't think that anybody's going to kill it."

"Is it likely to attack us?" Shepard asked.

"If provoked, yes." Eve answered.

"Maybe we could lure it to that mech." Garrus suggested. "Big risk, but I'd wager that it would go for the biggest target."

"It's a last resort." Shepard decided. "We don't want to provoke Kalros unless we have to."

They'd almost left the city when Cerberus managed to locate them.

"Warning: Incoming hostiles." The M47 warned.

Two Atlas mechs dropped from the sky and stomped towards the convoy.

"Keep the tomkahs back." Shepard ordered. "We'll handle this."

"If you insist." Wrex was disappointed. But Shepard couldn't risk losing Eve. That would mean the end of the genophage cure.

Shepard lined up a shot and killed one of the Atlas mechs with the cannon. He used the machine guns to whittle down the shields of the other one.

A shot hit the Tiger-Shark, but the shields held and Shepard finished off the second with a pair of missiles.

"That's a fancy toy you've got, Shepard." Wrex commented.

"New Alliance IFV." Mordin babbled. "Designed for recon and heavy combat. Could do with more."

"Cerberus isn't going to let up," Liara warned. "They'll send reinforcements."

Shepard drove further towards the exit, glancing at the radar and HUD. Liara's prediction was correct. A YMIR mech, supported by ORCUS, was stomping around the corner.

Shepard opened fire, switching from inferno to disruptor rounds.

The ORCUS mechs were the first to go, shredded or overloaded by the charged bullets. Shepard aimed at the YMIR.

The IFV shook as a rocket hit it, the shield warning beeped. Shepard ignored it and pulled the triggers. The rounds made short work of the YMIR's shields, Shepard switched ammo types again.

The YMIR stomped forwards and rattled off a volley of bullets. The Tiger-Shark's shields held and Shepard finished off the YMIR with another cannon round.

"Teams two and three, we're leaving the city." Shepard radioed. "Get ready for the assault."

"About time." Wreave grumbled.

"We're ready." Joker acknowledged. "Don't stop for coffee though."

They could see the Shroud now. They could also see the Hyperion, standing in front of it like an oversized and excessively armed guard dog. It was hardly subtle, painted white and yellow and standing tall. It was firing mortars at Wreave's team, but they were just fireworks compared to some of the guns it had.

According to EDI, it had four dual firing auto-cannons, six gatling guns, a point defence system, three homing missile launchers and a Thanix gun mounted under its chin.

Overpowered or not, it wasn't going down easily.

"This is what you're good at, Shepard." Wrex said. "Finding and killing big things."

"Looks like we might need Kalros." Shepard murmured. "How do we summon her?"

"The Shroud was built in an arena to Kalros' glory." Eve explained. "The salarians thought she would scare off intruders."

"Appears to have worked." Mordin added. "Partially."

"There are two Maw Hammers there, the largest in existence." Eve continued. "Activate them and Kalros will respond."

"We're still going to need a distraction." Garrus stated. "Or that mech will just shoot us. I know this thing has good shielding and heavy armour, but it won't last long against that mech."

"Agreed." Shepard drove the Tiger-Shark forwards. "Let's…"

The ground shook violently, but they all knew that it wasn't an earthquake.

"It's Kalros!" Wrex shouted. "Drive! Fast!"

Shepard hit the throttle, hoping that the tomkahs could keep up. The M47 was heavy, but it had powerful engines, it had shown how fast it could go on Palaven.

Looking at one of the rear camera displays, Shepard could see Kalros.

The krogan had been right about her size, he could only see the carapace that covered her back, but it was much wider than the Tiger-Shark and a lot bigger. He could only imagine the full size, and his imagination told him that she was at least as big as the Hyperion, if not bigger.

"Kalros is behind us!" Mordin babbled.

"Tell me something I don't know." Wrex grumbled.

"Metal in truck excellent iron supplement for Maw's diet."

One of the tomkahs stalled, but they couldn't stop to help. Besides, it was already too late.

Kalros reared up out of the sand, the vehicle was sent flying. It crashed to the ground and rolled several times before Kalros simply crushed it by sliding over it.

"Faster!" Garrus almost yelled.

Shepard was already pushing the throttle down as far as he could, the meter showing their speed was also at full.

"It's no good!" Liara grimaced. "We need to distract her."

"With what?" Shepard shouted.

"There is a Cerberus LZ not far from your location." EDI advised calmly. "I will send the coordinates."

The HUD beeped and showed Shepard where to go.

"Follow me." He ordered. "Don't stop."

"Wasn't planning on it!" Wrex grunted.

Shepard diverted some power from the shields to the engines; the extra protection was useless against Kalros anyway.

If the engines cut out or stalled, then they were dead. But the Tiger-Shark powered forwards, moving even faster.

Shepard could see the LZ ahead; Cerberus had set up an outpost, with a few shuttles and a couple of Prometheus mechs on the ground.

"There's a wall…" Liara began.

"It won't stop us." Shepard fired the cannon. It blasted a hole in the low wall.

The Tiger-Shark smashed through the weakened material, the tomkahs followed.

There was utter chaos in the camp; Cerberus soldiers were trying to stop them. One of them was rammed with such force that he was split in half.

In seconds, they were through and still speeding towards the Shroud. Shepard glanced at the camera displayes.

EDI was right again. He made a mental note to thank her.

Kalros had decided that the stationary snacks at the Cerberus outpost were easier to catch than the fleeing IFVs. She was already decimating the place.

"And we need her to destroy that mech." Garrus muttered.

"Large meal." Mordin stated. "Even for a Thresher Maw."

"Shepard, we're beginning the assault." Wreave radioed as they approached the Shroud. "For the krogan!"

Shepard saw the fight begin. The Hyperion didn't bother to move, relying on its heavy shields and thick armour.

It fired the Thanix first; Shepard saw it carve through an entire line of krogan armour. The damn thing was like a Reaper Destroyer, if not worse.

Joker and the fighter squadrons swooped in, launching a barrage of missiles. The Hyperion's PDS, point defence system, activated. A laser system shot down most of the missiles in flight. The ones that hit the mech didn't even dent the armour.

"We need to lure Kalros to that thing." Wrex sounded unusually subdued. "It'll slaughter our forces if we don't."

"Where's the safest spot to stop?" Shepard asked.

"Near the old labs." Mordin answered. "On the west side. There is also vehicle access for your M47."

* * *

They followed Mordin's directions to the labs. Once there, they left the vehicles. In Shepard's case, it was a temporary stop.

"The labs are here." Mordin pointed at the door. "Original strain in storage. Can begin work immediately."

"We'll deal with the mech." Shepard said. "Stay down until it's over." He turned to walk back to the Tiger-Shark.

"Wait!" Wrex stopped him. "I want you to know that no matter what happens, you've been an ally to the krogan, a friend to Clan Urdnot and a brother to me. From this day forth, the name Shepard shall mean hero." They clasped hands. "Give 'em hell, Shepard."

Cerberus must have spotted them. Troops were running out to greet them.

"I'll take care of this." Wrex pulled out his shotgun. "Mordin, get the cure ready. Shepard, kill that mech." He charged towards the soldiers, firing as he ran. "I am Urdnot Wrex! And this is my planet!"

Shepard climbed back into the Tiger-Shark with his squad as Mordin and Eve entered the labs.

He drove the IFV up the ramp and into the arena. The Hyperion detected them and opened fire, but they were at close range, the Hyperion was having trouble targeting them.

"Don't stop!" Garrus advised, not that he need to.

"How are we going to activate those Maw Hammers in a tank?" Liara asked.

"I'm on it." Wrex radioed. "I'll raise them, shoot them and they'll fall. Don't worry, that gun of yours won't destroy them."

The ground shook as the auto-cannons fired relentlessly, blasting holes in the stone. Shepard was moving the Tiger-Shark from side-to-side madly. He added some more power to the shields, it was hard to decide whether speed or shields would save them at the moment.

The Thanix moved and locked onto them. The air heated up as the beam surged towards them and sliced a deep furrow into the ground seconds behind them.

But now they were under the mech. Shepard assumed they were safe until he noticed a warning.

Something exploded and the tank shook, warnings blared and lights flashed red.

"It's dropping bombs on us!" Garrus realised. "We need to hit those Maw Hammers now!"

Shepard took aim and fired. The first Hammer boomed and the ground shook again.

An alarm exploded next to his ear.

"Warning: hull compromised." The computer warned in its calm voice.

Shepard fired at the second Maw Hammer and hit the throttle, speeding towards the Shroud.

The Hyperion trained its guns on them. Shepard saw something much larger appear on the scanner.

Kalros erupted from the west side of the arena and ploughed into the Hyperion.

The mech staggered, but somehow managed to remain upright. It turned its cannons on Kalros and opened fire.

The Maw screeched and retreated back into the ground. The mech stomped round to find her. Kalros shot up again, behind it now. The mech opened fire again; the gatling guns whirred and spewed metal at the creature.

Bleeding from hundreds of wounds, Kalros retreated again. Cerberus appeared to have won.

But Kalros was only hurt, not injured. And she had found a weakness.

The Thresher Maw burst out of the ground, underneath the mech, smashing through its hull and tearing it asunder.

The bisected mech toppled to the ground. Kalros selected the front to devour first and dragged it into the ground.

"By the Goddess!" Liara breathed.

"If only we could take Kalros with us." Garrus was just as awestruck. "She'd certainly give the Reapers a run for their credits."

* * *

Shepard parked the Tiger-Shark outside the tower. Mordin was working on the computers in front of the lift. He was humming as Shepard approached.

Apart from the typing and the humming, it was very quiet now.

"Mordin, is the cure ready?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, all done." Mordin was clearly excited. "Eve headed to safety now, procedure traumatic but not lethal, Maelon's research was invaluable. Must tell him that one day."

"What about the sabotage?"

"Simple defence mechanism." Mordin explained. "Self-destruct if unknown substance enters the system. All fixed, disarmed, safe." Mordin grinned. "Come on, must finish dispersal from top of Shroud, also a good view of Tuchanka, appropriate for the moment."

Shepard and his team followed Mordin into the lift. As it took them all the way up to the top of the Shroud, Shepard could see how relieved and happy Mordin was.

He'd made a mistake, now he was going to correct it.

"You're happy about this, Mordin." Liara said.

"My work, always happy to work." He explained. "Had to me this time, someone else might have gotten it wrong. After this war, I think I'll retire. Somewhere tropical, collect seashells."

"You'd go mad from boredom." Shepard joked.

Mordin considered. "Might run tests on seashells." The lift stopped at the last floor. "Ah, we're here. Excellent."

They walked out into a room filled with consoles. At the end was a floor-to-ceiling window. Mordin had been right about the view, the desert was strangely pleasant and peaceful.

Mordin began to type instructions into the console in front of the window.

"Ah, classic bypass. Very good." He smiled, then began to hum a tune. Shepard recognised it as his "Scientist Salarian" song. Mordin began to sing quietly as he worked.

Finally, he reached out for a button. He savoured the moment, then pushed it.

"Dispersal commencing." A VI announced. "All safeguards offline, dispersal commencing."

The cure was released into Tuchanka's atmosphere, floating down like flakes of snow, all over the planet.

"Genophage cured." Mordin murmured. "Krogan free. New future for the krogan, new future for us all."

* * *

_**Parts of this chapter were ideas from Sentuis (Paragon Paradox). The Hyperion assault mech is a bit of a cross between an AT-AT (Star Wars) and a Mammoth (Command and Conquer). I can rewrite this chapter if the idea of Cerberus trying to stop the cure is unpopular, but the Reapers will get some bigger battles on Thessia, Khar'shan and Earth.  
Since ME1, I've often wondered if you could upgrade a Mako's guns to fire different types of ammo. Might as well add that idea to the Tiger-Shark. **_

_**About the Shroud; since Mordin knew about the sabotage, I don't see why he couldn't fix it. I think that if Shepard didn't tell him, he'd try to cure the genophage, but would fail as the Shroud would explode. But you can celebrate, as Shepard did the right thing and the krogan have been cured.**_


	14. The Cerberus connection

_**I've been looking forwards to these next few chapters, I've spent a while coming up with ways to be original.**_

* * *

"Shepard, you did it!" Wrex laughed as he opened a bottle of ryncol. "Every krogan born after this owes their life to you and your friends. We'll be there for Earth and we'll kick the Reapers back into whatever black hole they crawled out of."

"You've saved our race, Commander." Eve agreed. "We owe you and Mordin a debt we can never repay, helping Earth is the least we can do."

"I'll send some troops to Palaven immediately." Wrex told them. "That should satisfy the turians."

"Then we have an alliance." Victus extended his hand.

Wrex shook it. "Count on us, we'll come with as much firepower as we can gather."

"We'd better return to the _Normandy_." Shepard said.

"Yeah, you still have a galaxy to save. No pressure." Wrex chuckled. "Stay alive, Shepard. When the time comes, I'll fight for Earth, with the krogan at my back."

* * *

The crew of the _Normandy _were going between celebrations and work. They had the krogan and the turians on their side, but they still had a war to win.

Shepard had messages to receive; his work rarely stopped or even paused.

The hologram was a little fuzzy, but it eventually resolved into the image of Sarah Hall.

"We've been hearing rumours," she was clearly excited. "Are they true?"

"The turians and the krogan have joined forces," Shepard confirmed, "they're ready to help."

"I knew we could count on you." Sarah smiled. "That will be a real boost for us."

"How's Earth?" Shepard asked.

"The Reapers are still rolling over us, but we're surviving." Sarah told him. "Russia was considering using nukes, but that's sheer lunacy. Besides, the Reapers have destroyed most of their silos. The Reapers are still concentrating on Italy and they've just destroyed Hamburg. We're on our way to Italy, we know it's probably stupid, but if that's where the Reapers are, it's where we need to be."

"Your people want to go?"

"Every last one of them." Hall nodded. "I thought they'd rebel, but they all know that there's no point in running or surrendering. Besides, they keep hearing about you, you give them hope. We also had a stroke of luck recently, we found a weapons cache in southern France, most of us have weapons now." She glanced at something, Shepard heard someone calling. "I'd better go; we've got Reaper scouts approaching. We'd better go and ruin their day."

"Good luck, Sarah."

"You too, Shepard." The hologram faded away.

The next message was from Anderson. The hologram appeared again, showing the Councillor this time.

"Shepard, you've done a lot of crazy things, but this is something else. You've just rewritten history." Anderson was impressed. "The salarians aren't happy, but having the krogan with us is going to make a huge difference."

"The cost of their support was too high." Shepard stated.

"We'll just have to do without them." Anderson shrugged. "That's not why I called you though. Something odd is happening here, I thought you could investigate, as we're going to a political meeting to solve some problems. Apparently we need neutral ground."

"What do you need from me?"

"Executor Chellick approached me yesterday; he said that Udina's been up to something." Anderson explained. "Moving funds around and calling some odd numbers."

"You want me to investigate Udina?"

"Yes. Meet Chellick outside the Dark Star, he thinks it's safer, if Udina sees you in C-Sec he might panic I suppose." Anderson said. "I hope Udina isn't trying to betray us, he's a shifty son of a bitch, but he's been on our side for years."

"We'll find out soon enough." Shepard nodded. "Good luck with that meeting."

"You need the luck." Anderson chuckled. "I only risk being killed by boredom. Let me know what you find."

The hologram faded. No rest for the wicked? It certainly seemed to be true.

Shepard took the lift down to Liara's office; he knew that her intel would be useful.

He noticed Javik and James talking in the mess hall and stopped to listen.

James was a bit uncertain about Javik. "So… Prothean huh?"

"Yes." Javik responded simply.

"How do you guys relax?" He asked. "I mean, you're a hell of a fighter, you've got to sit back at some point. How about gambling?"

"Games of chance were punishable by death in the Empire." Javik stated.

"Oh, right." James nodded. "Booze then?"

"No."

"Smoking?"

"Only when my armour became enflamed."

James laughed. "Hah! So, you like jokes." He raised his eyebrows. "Do you know any?"

"Yes."

"Give 'em to me."

"The Tulamoran spy walks into the Varksner camp and says: I didn't know that your parnaps could glow."

"Uh…"

"That was the joke."

James forced a laugh. "Yeah, that was very good." He smiled. "Very funny."

"No, it wasn't." Javik said. "I made it up. The joke is on you, human. You will believe anything."

Shepard left them to it and walked into Liara's office.

"Shepard," Liara put her datapad down. "What can I do for you?"

"Anderson asked me to investigate Udina," Shepard told her. "Do you have any information?"

"Of course." Liara tapped Udina's name into her console and waited for the information. "What kind of information am I looking for?"

"Payments and transmissions."

Liara narrowed the search and examined the database. "A lot of credits have been moved out of his account." She said. "I'm tracing a few of his calls." She was silent for a few moments. "They're calls to a contact on the Citadel, a man called Samuel Tanner." She ran a check on Tanner. "Udina's been talking to a Cerberus agent."

"Chellick will need this." Shepard muttered. "Copy the data onto an OSD. Udina's going to have a lot to explain."

* * *

The _Normandy _docked at Zakera ward. Shepard walked up to the Dark Star with Liara and Garrus.

Chellick was dressed in plain clothes, but they recognised him. He gestured for them to follow him inside. The place was busy, but Shepard knew that music would make eavesdropping difficult.

Chellick picked a table in the corner and they sat down. "Nice to see you again, Commander." He shook hands with Shepard. "Anderson told me you were going to help."

"We have some evidence." Shepard handed the OSD over. "It contains account and communication details."

"I won't ask how you got it." Chellick slipped it into his coat. "The Council went off for some meeting; Bailey suggested that they would be safe from spies elsewhere."

"What are you going to do about Udina?" Shepard asked.

"Arrest him, obviously." Chellick said. "You can watch if you like."

Shepard still had some doubts about Udina, but he decided to let Chellick make his move. At the very least, Udina could explain his actions.

* * *

Chellick took them in a C-sec car, without the sirens on. He didn't want Udina to run.

There were more C-sec officers waiting for them at the Embassies.

"Anything, Sergeant?" Chellick asked a turian as he stepped out of the car.

"No, sir." The turian responded. "Udina is still in his office."

"Follow me." Chellick pulled out a handgun. There would only be two ways out of Udina's office, one would result in a long drop and the other was through several armed C-sec officers.

The officers gathered outside the door, flanking it.

Chellick gave the signal.

One of the officers hacked the door and forced it open. They went in with their weapons aimed at a surprised politician.

"Freeze!" Chellick ordered. "Hands up!"

Udina raised his hands. "I don't understand." He said. "If this is a joke, it's poor."

"You are under arrest," Chellick stated. "For conspiring with Cerberus."

"What?" Udina was shocked. "What are you talking about?" He noticed Shepard behind the officers. "Shepard, I haven't done anything!"

"Explain yourself, Udina." Shepard stepped into the room. "What have you done?"

"I haven't contacted Cerberus." Udina sounded like he was halfway between crying and pleading. "He must have framed me."

"Who framed you?" Chellick growled, his gun was still pointing at Udina's head. "Spit it out."

Udina swallowed. "Bailey."

"What?" It was Chellick's turn to be surprised.

"Cerberus contacted him. I found out before you barged into my office." Udina explained. "He was using my accounts to pay and contact them. He's making a deal with them, something to do with the Council. I tried to warn Anderson, but the message was cut off. Please believe me, Commander!" He pleaded. "I never liked the Council, but I would never work with Cerberus either."

Shepard was silent for a few moments. The only sounds came from distant sky-cars and C-sec officers shifting on the feet.

"I think he's telling the truth." Shepard murmured. "Where is the Council?"

"Bailey suggested that they _have a meeting away from prying eyes_," Udina said. "But I tracked their ship. They went to Benning."

"Chellick, take Udina into custody but don't charge him." Shepard instructed. "Not until I've found the Council."

Udina began to protest until a warning glare from Chellick shut him up. The officers escorted him away from the Embassies.

* * *

Shepard was taken back to the _Normandy_. There was little time, even if Udina was lying the Council could still be in danger.

He put in a course for Benning as quickly as he could. Joker had obviously guessed that something was wrong; he upped the speed as they left the Citadel.

It would take the _Normandy _at least fifteen minutes to reach Benning, with Joker pushing the limits, for all Shepard knew they could be too late.

He sent a message to Kirrahe; he could help, provided he made it in time. It was clear that this was going to be a tough mission.

"Commander, there's trouble." Joker announced as they approached Benning. "Cerberus forces are attacking the city."

"Looks like Udina was right." Ashley commented. "For once."

"Why would Bailey betray the Council?" Liara wondered aloud. "It doesn't make sense."

"Is there anywhere to land a shuttle?" Shepard inquired.

"Nowhere safe." Joker stated. "EDI?"

"I would advise a tactical insertion using the M47." EDI said. "Once Grissom Square is clear, it should provide a suitable LZ."

"Okay. Joker, prepare for a fast drop."

"Commander, I have received a signal." EDI stated. "Establishing link."

The radio crackled. "Commander? Are you there?" A slightly gravelly voice asked.

"Is that you, Thane?" Shepard responded.

"Kirrahe contacted us, the STG can't reach Benning in time. He came to us for help."

"Us?"

"Kasumi, Zaeed and I, Kirrahe is also with us." Thane clarified. "We can't land yet, there's nowhere safe enough."

"We're working on it." Shepard told him. "I'm going to clear Grissom Square; I'll let you know when it's safe." He stepped back from the cockpit. "Keep them up to speed, EDI. Liara, get Garrus and meet me in the cargo bay."

* * *

Shepard once again found himself sitting in the driver's seat of the Tiger-Shark. He was starting to get used to drops into the thick of battle.

Bennin had a large, multi-layered city. Grissom Square was in the southern part, next to a military instillation. Cerberus had taken it over and was using the AA-guns to keep it secure.

Hopefully the M47 would drop quickly enough to avoid their fire.

"Beginning descent." The computer declared. "In five… four… three… two… one."

The tank dropped. Clouds and explosions rushed past. The turrets were firing at them, but as Shepard had hoped gravity was actually keeping them safe.

The jets activated and the tank glided onto the ground and began to hover.

Cerberus mechs and troops were running out to meet them. Shepard gave them a greeting too, one that also involved bullets. A couple of Atlas mechs stomped out to provide support, but they were still no match for the M47's cannon.

With the Cerberus forces out of the way, Shepard turned the guns on the AA-guns and destroyed both of them.

"Thane, it's safe to land now." Garrus radioed. "Land in Grissom Square."

* * *

Thane landed a small shuttle in the square five minutes later. The door of the shuttle opened, Kirrahe stepped out with Zaeed, Kasumi and Thane. They were all armed. Kirrahe and Zaeed were both carrying assault rifles, Kirrahe favoured a Vindicator. Zaeed was carrying an old Avenger. Kasumi was carrying a Locust. Thane was armed with a Viper.

"It's good to see you." Shepard said. "Cerberus is here for the Council."

"I know." Kirrahe nodded. "According to your message, Commander Bailey has something to do with this."

"I don't know for certain." Shepard told him. "I don't know why either."

Garrus ambled over. "If we invite more friends, this might turn into a party." He remarked. "How are you doing, Thane?"

"They've cured my syndrome. I will be able to spend more time with my son." Thane said. "Running is still painful; I've not been fully cured yet. But I can still fight."

"Stick to sniping for the time being." Shepard advised. "Zaeed can handle close range fights."

"With gusto." Zaeed added.

"What about me?" Kasumi folded her arms. "I'm dangerous."

"We know." Shepard placated her. "Strike from stealth when we need you."

"Sounds like fun."

Shepard gestured at Liara, who displayed a hologram on her omni-tool. It showed Grissom square and the area around it.

"We need to find the Council." Shepard explained. "Cerberus is all over the city. EDI can find the Council by using the city's security systems. Once she's found them, we'll take escort them back here for evac. I'll take a team into the city; the rest will stay here to keep the LZ secure."

"I've got a better idea." Zaeed stepped forwards and pointed a tall spire. "This is the Arcturus Pinnacle. It's perfect for an evac. The Pinnacle also has automated defences; if we can turn them on we'll be safe for hours, unless they bring air support."

"How do you know about this place?" Liara asked.

"I planned a raid there a few years ago." Zaeed explained. "Never went ahead though. At the very least, you won't have to worry about your team being swarmed."

Shepard considered. "Okay, we'll use your plan." He decided. "We'll use the Tiger-Shark to clear the way. Once we reach the Pinnacle, Cortez can pick us up. Or one of us can use the Tiger-Shark to come back here and fetch this shuttle." He pointed at the small shuttle.

"I can do that." Thane stated. "Or I could go to the local security station and take one of their dropships. They're armoured and can carry your tank."

"That sounds good." Shepard agreed. "EDI, any sign of the Council?"

"I have located them." EDI responded. "There are in the local embassy building, here."

One of the buildings flashed red.

"That's not too far from here." Liara stated. "We can make it, provided we move quickly."

"Let's go." Shepard instructed. "There's enough room in the tank for us."

"I hope that thing's tough." Zaeed muttered. "Because this place is a goddamn warzone."

* * *

_**I'm going to integrate **_**Leviathan _into this story too, it'll come later, probably after Thessia. Updates will still be slow, but I'll keep writing._**


	15. The Cerberus plot

Shepard was thankful for the large space in the Tiger-Shark. There were seven people inside and none of them were squashed. Zaeed and Kirrahe had to stand up, but they could cope.

"EDI, update our maps with the Council's positions." Shepard requested.

"Done." EDI responded. "Thermal scans indicate that Cerberus is deploying tanks to stop you."

"Tanks?" Garrus echoed.

"They are using M44 Hammerheads." EDI stated. "The M47 is superior to the M44, Cerberus intends to delay you rather than stop you."

"They can throw away lives and tanks," Zaeed muttered. "They've either got balls or plenty of troops to spare."

"The latter." EDI stated. "Cerberus uses Reaper technology to turn captured civilians into fearless shock troopers."

"And to think that we worked with them once." Garrus shook his head. "Looks like the welcoming party is on its way."

Shepard saw something speeding towards them. It was one of the Hammerheads.

They were slightly faster than Tiger-Shark, the M47 was quite heavy, but they were much weaker.

A rocket zoomed over the M47. Shepard fired the cannon in response.

The Hammerhead was knocked backwards, damaged but still intact.

The second shot blew ait apart. EDI had been right; the Hammerhead was no match for the Tiger-Shark.

"EDI, can you raise the Council?" Garrus requested.

"Their communications have ceased." EDI said. "It is probably an attempt to avoid capture."

Shepard drove the M47 down some stairs and into a wide street. At least the streets were wide enough for the tank.

They were still in the upper city, but Cerberus was everywhere trying to find the Council first.

"Turn right." The M47's computer instructed. "Objective is moving."

"The Council is running?" Kasumi shrugged. "What a surprise."

"Objective has halted."

"They must have found a place to hide." Garrus guessed. "Cerberus must be closing in."

Another Hammerhead appeared, sweeping around the corner. It wasn't fast enough.

Shepard fired instinctively. The shot hit the Hammerhead's left engine. It swung round and fell off the road and down into the lower city.

The road was clear once again, Shepard continued to follow instructions from the M47 and EDI. Cerberus was putting up light resistance, their priority was the Council.

"Follow the road for ten metres." The M47 said. "Turn left at the next corner."

"Enemy mechs!" Zaeed had spotted them first.

A pair of Prometheus mechs had just dropped in. The first one began to fire its cannons.

The Tiger-Shark's shield warning blared. The tank rocked as a shot hit the hull.

Shepard fired the missiles, one for each mech. It gave him enough time to shoot one of them as it tried to shoot down the missile in flight.

The other one took a hit and lost its shields, but was still standing. Shepard didn't give it time; he opened fire with the machine guns.

Some of the bullets penetrated the armoured cockpit and killed the pilot. The mech slumped.

"Shepard, Cerberus forces are attacking the embassy." EDI said. "I have confirmed that the assassin Niles is with them."

"We're going to have to rethink this." Garrus muttered.

"I have an idea, Commander." Cortez radioed. "I can swing by for an air strike and drop reinforcements, but I can only manage one run."

"Go ahead, Cortez." Shepard accepted the plan; he didn't have a better one.

Shepard drove the Tiger-Shark along another street and within sight of the embassy.

As promised, Cortez flew in with the shuttle and used the cannons to blow open the gate and to kill the troops outside.

"I'm dropping help now, Commander." The shuttle hovered above the ground and opened the doors. Ashley, James and Grunt jumped out. The shuttle took off before Cerberus could send fighters after it.

"Thane, look after the tank." Shepard instructed. "Everybody else, come with me."

He stepped out and took cover behind the embassy wall with his squad, just in case there were Cerberus troops waiting for them.

"EDI, where's the Council?" Shepard asked.

"They appear to have split up." EDI replied. "Likely to avoid capture. I advise splitting into teams to locate them."

"Okay." Shepard made quick judgements. "Garrus, you go with Kirrahe and Kasumi. Ashley, take Liara and Zaeed. I'll take James and Grunt with me. We'll split up to find the Councillors."

"Three teams for four people?" Ashley frowned.

"Anderson's capable." Shepard shrugged. "And he knows how to use a gun. Watch out for Niles and Bailey." He signalled and they moved out, heading in different directions.

Shepard moved up to the entrance, Garrus took the fire escape up to the roof, Ashley headed for the sublevels.

Shepard found the door locked. He activated his omni-tool and hacked the code.

Cerberus obviously hadn't entered through the front door. The receptionist was dead, shot in the head. Two guards were also dead, on the ground with their weapons kicked aside.

"Check your targets." Shepard told them. "We don't want to shoot the Councillors."

As they moved down the hallway, they could hear distant gunfire. Whether it was one of the teams engaging Cerberus forces or a survivor was unclear.

The gunfire became louder as they approached the canteen. As an embassy, it was more of a restaurant, but a lot of the finery was riddled with bullets or had been blown up.

Cerberus troops and mechs were fighting somebody. The fight was unfair, Shepard couldn't see who was firing back but there was only one against several.

"James, frag them." Shepard ordered.

James lobbed a grenade into the hall. The troopers had the good sense to run, the mechs didn't.

Grunt jumped into the fray almost immediately, laughing madly as he charged into a Cerberus trooper.

Shepard took cover behind a table. The wood wasn't brilliant as cover, but it was better than nothing. He leant round and shot two troopers. James moved up and caught a trooper reloading. A quick burst from his gun ended the fight.

"Shepard?" A familiar voice called. "Is that you?"

"Anderson?"

Councillor Anderson stood up; he had been taking cover behind a makeshift barricade that led to the kitchens. There was blood on his clothes that wasn't his and he was holding a Harrier that he no doubt taken from a Cerberus trooper.

"You're a sight for sore eyes, Commander." Anderson shoved part of the barricade aside. "They had me outnumbered. I've been holding this place, trying to protect the wounded."

"Wounded?" James noticed. "Are any of the Councillors dead?"

"The asari and salarian Councillors ran when troops broke in." Anderson explained as he led them into the kitchens. "The surviving guards and embassy staff came here. Cerberus has been utterly ruthless this time." He gestured at two wounded civilians in the corner of the kitchen. "See for yourself. As soon as they landed, they began to gun down anything that moved."

James knelt down next to the couple and began to help with medi-gel. "They'll make it, but they can't fight."

Shepard glanced around. There were three wounded bodyguards, five civilians and an aide for the asari Councillor. The turian Councillor had been holding the doorway, just in case Anderson had died. He only had a small snub pistol for defence.

"You've saved me twice, Commander." He said. "I owe you a great debt."

"We're not out of this yet." Shepard knew that their plan was in jeopardy. They couldn't cram the wounded and the Councillors into the Tiger-Shark, they simply wouldn't fit.

He quickly came up with another plan. Zaeed had mentioned the tower. He could take one group to the tower and await extraction; the others would escape in the tank.

But it was a risky move.

"SITREP." He requested.

"Garrus here, we've located the salarian Councillor." Garrus responded. "His guards are dead, but he's okay."

"Bring him to the restaurant." Shepard instructed. "Anderson and the turian Councillor are here."

"No sign of the asari Councillor yet." Ashley answered. "We've run into light resistance, nothing we can't handle."

"Where are you?" Shepard asked.

"Sublevel corridor B3." Ashley replied.

"I'm on my way down." Shepard told her. "James, stay here and look after these people."

"Got it." James nodded.

* * *

It was dark in the sublevels, but there was no sign of Cerberus troopers. Shepard turned on his flashlight.

The first thing it illuminated was a dead asari commando, one the Councillor's protectors, dead in a corner. There was a Tempest in her hands and a large weapon at her feet.

"Scatter cannon." Grunt stated. "Could be fun down here."

Shepard swapped his grenade launcher for it. Grunt was right, the scatter cannon was a good choice for this place.

"Ashley, we're in corridor…" Shepard shone his light on a sign. "A5."

"We're not far from your position." Ashley said. "Be careful, Cerberus is down here."

Shepard moved forwards, Grunt followed him. There was the occasional shot from somewhere distant, but otherwise the place was quiet.

Cerberus had left surprises behind though.

Shepard heard something beep and whirr. Something stood up in the darkness. An ORCUS mech. Three more mechs exited standby mode and prepared to fire.

Shepard fired the scatter cannon. The recoil was violent, almost knocking him over.

The room ahead was suddenly flashing with light as the explosive rounds detonated, blasting the mechs apart.

"Now that's my kind of gun!" Grunt whooped.

"Shepard, was that you?" Ashley radioed. "What the hell was that?"

"Just a gun." Shepard told her. "We're in B1. Cerberus has left some mechs behind."

A mech crawled towards him; it had been blown in half. Grunt merely stood on it and crushed it.

"Shepard, Garrus here." Garrus radioed. "I'm in the restaurant. Cerberus sent in a few mechs, but they're holding back for now."

"Stay alive, Garrus." Shepard told him.

"Will do." Garrus acknowledged.

The sublevels were hardly as grand as the embassy above. The metal walls and floors were cold and plain. They passed another dead bodyguard on the way.

"Skipper?" The voice didn't come from the radio this time.

"It's me, Ash." Shepard confirmed.

Ashley lowered her rifle and turned the flashlight back on. "We think the asari Councillor is down here."

"She's probably hiding." Zaeed muttered. "Gutless asari." He glanced at Liara. "No offence."

"None taken." Liara murmured.

"EDI, we need to find the asari Councillor." Shepard radioed. "Any suggestions?"

"I have located several heat signatures in the sublevels." EDI said. "One is inside the data vault."

"We'll try that first." Shepard decided. "Thanks, EDI."

He gestured at the others to follow him and led the way, following directions on his omni-tool. They had gone through three corridors when they encountered enemy soldiers.

"I think one of them is here." The familiar grating voice confirmed it. Cerberus troops were ahead.

"Get that door open." An officer instructed. "We're running out of time."

Shepard peeked around the corner. Unfortunately, he picked a bad moment.

One of the troopers, wearing bulky armour and an ammo pack on his back, saw him.

"Hostile spotted!" He shouted. He lifted something and the corridor was suddenly filled with light and noise.

The Guardian had a portable machinegun as a primary weapon.

"Goddamn Cerberus!" Zaeed spat. "How the hell are we going to past that?"

The gun stopped.

"I've overheated," The Guardian cried. "Cover me!"

"That's how!" Ashley realised. "Wait for his gun to overheat."

"Open fire!" Shepard leant around the corner and fired his rifle.

One of the troopers went down with holes in his head. Zaeed was quick to kill the other one.

The Guardian opened fire again, forcing them back into cover.

The officer was still waiting for the engineer to open the door.

The Guardian's weapon overheated again.

Shepard launched an incineration blast at him. The Guardian flailed around as the fire burned through his armour.

Ashley took aim and fired a single shot through his chest, silencing him permanently.

The officer turned to open fire with his pistol. Liara launched a singularity at him and engineer, lifting them both into the air and leaving them exposed.

Shepard shot them both, hardly needing to aim.

"Clear." Ashley stated.

Shepard approached the vault door and activated the panel.

Zaeed nudged the dead Guardian. "I hope we don't run into more of these guys."

Shepard activated the vault's intercom. There was no way for them to cut through the heavy alloy door, even with the proper tools.

"Is anybody in there?" He asked. "This is Commander Shepard. It's safe now, we're here to help."

Nobody spoke. But Shepard thought he heard a noise, something like a sob.

"Can you open the door?" He asked.

"Go away," a female voice sobbed. "You won't kill me."

"I'm not here to hurt you." Shepard assured whoever was inside. "I'm here to help."

He heard another voice in the background, one that sounded more confident.

"I'm opening the door." The second voice said. "Stand back."

There was a grinding sound and the door slid open. There were two asari inside, one was the Councillor and the other was an assistant. Both of them were holding small pistols.

The assistant was in tears and clearly terrified.

"Shepard," The Councillor lowered her gun. "Did you come for me?"

"I came for the Council." Shepard answered. "Are either of you injured?"

"I'm fine, Commander." The Councillor shook her head.

"Your friend is not." Liara stated. She carefully approached the terrified asari and began to speak to her in an effort to calm her down. Shepard could see that the assistant was favouring a leg, there was purple staining a bandage around it. She wouldn't be able to run.

"Garrus, we've found the asari Councillor." Shepard announced. "We're on our way back."

He heard gunfire.

"You might want to reconsider." There was more gunfire. "Cerberus just came in force. Our friend from Sur'Kesh is back too."

"Hold them off." Shepard ordered. "We're on our way." He turned to his squad. "Liara, Zaeed, keep the Councillor and her friend safe. We'll take the lead."

Liara nodded and reloaded her weapon. Shepard led the way out with the others. As they reached the ground floor the sounds of battle became louder.

Shepard gestured at a corridor leading to the right. "There's a backdoor to the kitchens, that's where Garrus is." Shepard told Liara. "Keep them safe."

"I will." Liara nodded.

Shepard waited for her go before opening a door on the left side of the restaurant.

Garrus' assessment had been correct. But the place was a small warzone.

Cerberus had dropped an Atlass through the roof, along with jetpack troopers armed with M25 Hornets.

Garrus, James, Kirrahe, Kasumi and Anderson were trying to hold them off, but they were badly outmatched.

Shepard caught sight of Niles on the balcony above, firing her Sabre at Garrus' position.

Shepard unslung the scatter cannon and fired its last shot.

Two jetpack troopers hit the ground. The Atlas staggered, but didn't go down.

The tables were no match for its cannon. If it wasn't destroyed, it would simply leave them exposed.

"Concentrate fire on the mech!" Shepard yelled over the noise.

"Cover me!" Zaeed shouted before flanking left, trying to get behind the mech.

Niles spotted him and took aim. Ashley saw the movement and opened fire on Niles, forcing her to duck.

Zaeed jumped onto a chair, still intact somehow, and climbed onto the back of the mech.

He clambered onto its shoulders and fired his assault rifle into the screen, shattering it and riddling the pilot with bullets.

He reached down and yanked the pilot out before jumping into the cockpit.

"Mine now." Shepard heard him over the radio. "Wait, how many goddamn buttons does this thing need?"

The Atlas turned as Zaeed figured out the controls. He was soon shooting the remaining troopers with its cannon.

"How do you like that?" He shouted gleefully.

Niles plucked a grenade from her belt and threw it into the cockpit. It landed in Zaeed's lap.

Zaeed leapt out of the cockpit like he had sat on a varren. The mech exploded behind him, throwing him to the ground.

"Son of a bitch!" Zaeed cursed as he staggered to his feet.

"Cease fire." An unfamiliar voice ordered.

Niles complied instantly.

Zaeed hurried into cover. A man wearing dark armour was coming, along with Cerberus soldiers. He had some sort of visor over his eyes, dark hair, and a sword at his side.

"Commander Shepard." He half smiled. "I've been looking forwards to this."

"Do I know you?" Shepard frowned.

"My name is Kai Leng." The assassin stated. "I'm here to kill the Council. You've made my job very difficult."

Shepard didn't take the bait. He gestured at his squad to stay ready.

"Surrender, Shepard." Leng said. "The Illusive Man might show you mercy."

"Not bloody likely." Zaeed muttered.

"We've beaten your forces, Leng." Shepard countered. "Leave and we will spare you."

"Commander, you should listen to him."

Shepard looked up and stared in shock.

Bailey was with Kai Leng. He was holding his side and he had a black eye, but it looked like he really was helping Cerberus.

"Shepard, Cerberus is trying to help humanity." Bailey said. "The Council doesn't give a damn about humanity."

"Bailey!" Anderson called. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I'm sorry, Anderson." Bailey seemed to be torn. "But nobody was going to help Earth."

"Why are you doing this Bailey?" Shepard demanded. He couldn't believe that Bailey, his friend, was doing this.

"I have a family, Shepard." Bailey sounded defensive now. "I haven't heard from them since the Reapers attacked Earth. Cerberus promised to help me if I helped them."

"You arranged a trap for the Council." Garrus surmised.

"Cerberus has torn this city apart trying to kill the Council." Shepard stated. "They've killed innocent people, people like your family, without remorse. Just like the Reapers."

"Sacrifices are inevitable, Bailey." Leng said. "Kill Shepard and we will deal with the Council, and then we can save your family."

Bailey didn't lift his gun, not at first. He slowly lifted it. "Surrender, Shepard. I don't want to kill you."

"If you want to let Cerberus take over the galaxy, then you will have to." Shepard stated. "They're working with the Reapers, not against them. They won't help you, Bailey. They'll stab you in the back when they don't need you."

"You did the same to us, Shepard." Niles retorted. "The Collector base could have saved lives."

"Shepard," Bailey was aiming at his head. "Stand down."

"Bailey, this isn't the right thing to do." Shepard persisted. "You can't let these people murder the Council. Maybe they're not doing enough, but this won't help anybody."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Anderson muttered.

"He doesn't mean you." Garrus murmured.

Bailey hesitated. Leng reached for his sword.

Bailey suddenly whipped round, aiming his pistol at Leng.

But he wasn't fast enough.

Leng had already stabbed him. Bailey jolted and dropped his gun.

Shepard fired at Leng, but the assassin was unnaturally fast and spun aside. Bailey dropped to the ground, bleeding profusely.

"You're going to pay for that!" Shepard bellowed.

"Do your worst, Shepard." Leng smiled smugly. "Niles, deal with them."

"My pleasure." Niles took aim. The shot from the sabre tore through the counter Garrus was behind. Fortunately the bullet missed.

Leng slipped away as the chaos erupted.

Niles had the high ground. There was nowhere to hide.

"Shoot the balcony supports!" Ashley shouted. "Bring them down!"

"Shepard!" Zaeed tossed him a discarded grenade launcher. The counter displayed six rounds.

Zaeed moved out of cover. "Come and get me, you bitch!"

Niles fired at him. Zaeed only just avoided the shot and slipped back into cover.

Shepard fired the launcher. The grenade hit a support and shattered it.

The balcony wobbled, but stayed in place. Niles turned and fired at Shepard.

Garrus caught her attention by fired his Vindicator at her, bringing her shields down.

Shepard fired the second grenade.

The balcony suddenly collapsed, with nothing by thin to support it, and crashed down to the ground.

Niles stumbled to her feet, bleeding and bruised, but still alive.

She whipped out her bowie knife and handgun. "I'm going to gut you, Shepard!"

Shepard holstered the launcher and pulled out his rifle. Niles was already charging towards him.

Shepard opened fire. Niles took cover impossibly fast despite her wounds.

Zaeed threw a grenade at her, but she moved again and slipped into cover.

Shepard began to move back, but she was gaining ground. She no longer cared about the Councillors, she just wanted Shepard dead.

She charged and hit Shepard, knocking his rifle aside. Shepard grabbed her arms, trying to keep both the pistol and the knife away.

Niles kept wrenching him around, using him as a human shield.

Shepard kicked her away. Her knife dropped to the ground.

But now she was aiming her pistol at his head.

Shepard tried to move, beginning to run to the right.

A shot boomed.

Shepard hit the ground.

But there was no blood.

Niles was bleeding from a bullet wound in her chest. She silently fell to her knees and onto her back.

Bailey's gun was still smoking.

Shepard hurried over to him, but it was obvious that the man was dying.

Bailey groaned and dropped the gun. "What the hell have I done, Shepard?"

"I understand, Bailey." Shepard knelt down next to him. "You did what you thought was right."

"It wasn't though." Bailey rasped. "I know I don't deserve much, not anymore, but just promise me that you'll save Earth. Save my family."

"I will." Shepard vowed.

"That bastard will bring reinforcements." Bailey coughed up some blood. "You need to run Shepard; you haven't got… much time." He coughed again. "At least… I got… one of them…" His eyes rolled back and he stopped breathing.

Shepard reached across and closed his eyes. There was no time to mourn.

"We need to leave." He spoke quietly. "Follow me."

His squad helped the wounded onto their feet. James had to carry one of them.

Silently, they left the bloodied room behind.

As soon as the doors opened, Shepard saw that Bailey had been right.

Cerberus had summoned reinforcements. But not the kind they had expected.

"Goddess!" Liara breathed. "They've summoned the Reapers!"

* * *

_**Updates may be a bit slow, but I will finish this story. I've got a lot of work to do, so I'm writing during weekends.**_

_**The scatter cannon is a weapon I invented in ME1 by upgrading a shotgun with explosive rounds. It was an absurd gun, but anything in the way was history. In this case, it's a heavy weapon.  
**__**One thing that did annoy me in ME3 is the lack of heavy weapons and the weight based inventory system, which is why Shepard has access to heavy weapons in this story.**_


	16. Holding the line

_**Sorry about the delays. I know that I'm getting less support as a result, but I'm working as fast as I can. Reviews for this chapter would be appreciated.**_

* * *

Thane settled the tank outside the embassy and opened the hatch. As Shepard had feared, there was simply not enough room from them all.

"We need to rethink this, Commander." James seemed to read his thoughts. "There's no way we're getting them all in."

"We'll split again." Shepard explained. "Thane will take some of them back to the evac point, then find a ship and pick us up on the tower."

"But who should go?" Garrus asked. "We came to rescue the Council, but the wounded don't stand a chance on the ground."

"We should get the wounded out of here first." Liara suggested. "They're in no condition to fight."

"But if we lose the Council, we could lose the war." Kirrahe argued. "This is what Cerberus wants; they want to kill the Council at all costs. They want to destabilise the galaxy."

It was a tough choice, both Liara and Kirrahe were right. Shepard had to choose between risking the Council and the civilians.

He finally made a decision. "Ashley, Kasumi, help the wounded into the tank." He instructed. "The rest of us will protect the Council."

"Right away, Skipper." Ashley started to usher the wounded into the Tiger-Shark.

"Anderson, I know you can fight." Shepard said. "But stay down and keep the Council safe."

"It's your game, Shepard." Anderson nodded. "I understand."

"James, Kirrahe, watch their backs." Shepard continued. "Zaeed and Grunt can watch the flanks. I'll take point with Garrus and Liara."

"That should work." Kirrahe agreed. "Together we should be able to keep the Council safe."

"This had better work, Shepard." The salarian Councillor muttered.

"It will." Anderson stated. "Have some faith in the Spectre who's saved the galaxy twice."

Ashley and Kasumi entered the tank last, closing the hatch behind them.

"Good luck, my friend." Thane radioed before turning the tank around and driving to the evac point.

Shepard glanced up at the sky. Reapers were descending from orbit and landing all over the city.

The sky had turned red, as if it was full of blood. Smoke was rising from many fires as the city burned.

Cerberus was truly desperate if they had resorted to this.

"Let's move out." Shepard reloaded his rifle. "Stay close and don't fall behind. Leave the fighting to us."

Despite the incoming Reapers, Shepard decided to move cautiously. He didn't want to blunder into an ambush.

Benning was starting to look worse than Palavan, because it had fewer automated defences, no fleet and no soldiers to bring extra firepower.

Shepard saw a Cerberus shuttle attempt to flee, only to be shot down by a trio of Reaper fighters.

"Shepard, down there." Garrus pointed at something.

It was unmistakeably a varren, only modified with Reaper tech. Its legs were completely mechanical and longer than usual, making it faster. It had vicious spikes on its head and metal teeth that were electrified. It was staring around with glowing blue eyes and growling.

"We can't let those things get close." Shepard whispered. "I'm going to assign targets. Fire on my mark."

Shepard activated his Valkyrie's targeting laser. He marked the Marauder for Garrus and a Mauler for Liara. He aimed at the second Mauler.

It occurred to him that the Reapers were using the Maulers as trackers. The ex-varren seemed to be sniffing for something.

"Fire!" He pulled the trigger.

Garrus expertly put a bullet through the Marauder's head. The Maulers began to charge towards the sound of gunfire. The first one was abruptly lifted into the air and riddled with bullets. The third was frozen by Shepard's cryo rounds and shattered by another bullet from Garrus.

There wasn't any time to appreciate their handiwork though. Shepard gestured at the others to follow him and moved on.

There were several routes to the Arcturus Pinnacle. The main road was out of the question, they would be spotted immediately. Shepard was taking a route through the backstreets, hoping to avoid the bigger Reaper units.

He halted and peeked around a corner. As he had suspected, the main road really was out of the question. He could see Annihilators and Conquerors on the move.

One of the krogan husks, the Alliance had started to call them Demons, was stomping along with them.

"Stay low." Shepard instructed. "Don't fire."

He crouched down and used a broken sky-car for cover. The occupants had been incinerated, no doubt caught in the beam from a Reaper.

The ground began to shake. Shepard heard the trumpeting call of a Reaper.

"Down!" Garrus hissed. "Get down!"

Shepard dropped behind the wreckage. He could just see the Reaper Destroyer advancing along the main road, firing its weapon at something.

It looked like somebody was alive and fighting back, but they wouldn't be for long.

Shepard waited for it to leave before moving again. He decided not to radio EDI or Thane, just in case the Reapers were listening to radio chatter.

They were alone for now.

They moved into a house, parts of it were on fire, still keeping low. James watched their backs until they were all inside.

The owners of the house had been killed, their throats ripped out by Maulers. One of them had been trying to fight using an old SMG, an M2 Shard, but had been shot by something.

"These people never stood a chance." Zaeed muttered. "Almost reminds me of those colonies the Collectors attacked."

"The Collectors wanted people alive." Garrus said. "The Reapers just want them dead."

Shepard tried to open the door, but it was jammed shut. He activated his omni-blade and used it to pry the door open.

He was suddenly met by a roar and a wash of foul smelling breath. A Cannibal had been waiting on the other side, its recent meal was outside and it was after more.

Shepard stabbed his still active blade through its head. But he had reacted too late.

He heard mechanical sounds and heavy footsteps. The Cannibal had alerted its allies.

Three more Cannibals had appeared, led by a Marauder. Shepard took cover behind the door and opened fire.

Anderson and Kirrahe kept the Council down. Shepard knew that the M1 Protectors the Councils had were almost useless in a battle. They were fine for self-defence and wounding assailants, but otherwise useless.

Anderson still had the Harrier he had taken from a dead Cerberus soldier and was firing it at the husks.

"What the hell is that?" James pointed at something scuttling towards the house.

"Looks like a klixen," Garrus noticed. "They're going to burn us out!"

"Concentrate fire on the klixen husk." Shepard ordered.

The klixen husk had heavy armour at the front and two large flamethrowers attached to its body.

Shepard could see a tank embedded in its back. He aimed and fired at it.

Some sort of liquid began to leak it. Whatever it was, it was like napalm and highly volatile.

It burst into flames and melted the klixen husk alive. Just like ordinary klixen, it exploded upon death, showering the area with flaming liquid.

"That stuff is vicious." Zaeed commented. "It won't stop burning."

"Shepard, we need to get moving." Liara advised. "That might have alerted more Reapers."

Shepard forced the door open completely and led the way onto the street.

They were a little exposed. There was wreckage to take cover behind though.

"There's the tower." Zaeed pointed. "We're close."

He was right. The front doors were within sight and seemingly unguarded.

The tower itself was looming above them, reaching high into the sky.

There was a crashed shuttle next to the doors. The unfortunate soldiers were dead.

They were N7 operatives. Most of them had perished in the crash; the shuttle was practically embedded in the road.

The rest had been mercilessly ripped apart by husks. There was an N7 Nægling handheld chain-gun held by the limp hand of a dead soldier.

"What were these N7s doing here?" Zaeed wondered aloud.

"Probably for the same thing we came for." James answered. "The Council."

"Unlucky sods." Zaeed muttered. "Reapers must have shot them down."

Liara tried to open the tower doors. "The doors are locked." She stated. "Securely too, somebody might be alive inside."

"Can you get us inside?" Shepard asked.

"I made copies of that bypass shunt program." She explained. "It should work here."

"Incoming!" Grunt bellowed.

Liara started the program and took cover. Anderson and Kirrahe kept the Council in cover, within the gutted shuttle.

Shepard had no time to pay respects; he grabbed the Nægling and spun the four barrels.

The Reapers were sending the standard husks and Devils as cannon fodder.

The N7 Nægling had been made for this kind of situation. Shepard opened fire.

The recoil was fierce, but the weapon was firing a swath of bullets and shredding the husks.

It had plenty of rounds to fire too.

"Don't stop firing!" Anderson shouted over the noise. "Give them everything you've got!"

The husks were not stopping, no matter how many they shot. They were sending in the Cannibals and Marauders now.

"Snipers!" Garrus warned. He had seen a drell husk, an Oppressor, moving into position.

One thousand rounds left. The bypass was half way done. But there were more husks coming, including Scions and Defilers.

Shepard targeted the Defilers first, occasionally managing to make them explode amongst other husks.

Five hundred and two rounds left. The bypass was still going. The husks were still coming.

"I'm running out of ammunition!" Liara ejected a spent clip from her SMG.

"Pick your targets," Garrus fired a single shot through the head of an Oppressor. "Make every shot count."

"Come on!" Zaeed yelled. "Bring it on, you goddamn freaks!"

"Now you're talking!" Grunt laughed, blasting a Marauder in half with his Claymore.

The bypass was almost done. But the Reapers had just deployed a Demon.

Shepard unloaded the last few hundred rounds in the Nægling into it. The husk didn't go down, but its armour was shredded.

James primed a grenade, waited for a moment, and then hurled it at the husk.

He timed it perfectly. The grenade detonated as it made contact with the Demon's head.

There wasn't much left as its remains hit the ground.

The doors beeped and slid open.

"It's done," Liara called.

"Get inside!" Shepard shouted.

Anderson moved inside with the Councillors. Zaeed fired another burst before following them with James and Grunt in tow.

Liara was standing in the threshold, covering them with her pistol. Her SMG had run out of thermal clips.

Garrus moved back. Kirrahe stood up to follow him.

The salarian cried out in pain. An Oppressor had shot him in the leg.

Garrus opened fire, killing the drell husk. Shepard tried to help Kirrahe onto his feet.

"No, Commander." Kirrahe stopped him. "I'll just slow you down."

"Kirrahe…" Shepard was cut off again.

"I'll hold the line." Kirrahe picked up his rifle. "One last time. Go, Shepard."

"Shepard, we need to move!" Garrus called.

He was right. The husks were still advancing, supported by tanks.

Shepard ran into the tower. Kirrahe gave him a salute. Shepard returned the gesture.

As the doors slid shut and sealed, he saw Kirrahe stagger to his feet and open fire.

That was the last he saw of his friend.

Kirrahe mowed down a pair of husks and stepped over the wreckage despite his wounded leg.

A Mauler charged at him, but he rammed his assault rifle into its head and pulled the trigger.

A Marauder fired at him. Two shots hit Kirrahe in the chest, but he managed to turn and kill the Marauder.

Three more shots hit him. These came from a Demon's minigun.

Kirrahe's rifle was empty. He cast it aside and primed a grenade.

Shepard didn't see him charge into the mass of husks and sacrifice himself using the grenade, but he heard the explosion and knew that Kirrahe was dead.

Without speaking, he followed Garrus and Liara into a lift and set it to take them to the top floor.

* * *

The lifts didn't travel all the way to the top of the tower, but that didn't matter. They were close to the landing pads.

Shepard stepped outside with his rifle raised, followed by Liara and Garrus.

"Clear." He radioed James. They were high above the city; it was easy to see the carnage below. He decided to risk a call to the _Normandy_.

"_Normandy_, this is Shepard."

"Good to hear from you, Commander." Joker responded. "Thane just showed up at the LZ with the survivors. No casualties. Do you want me to fly in and get you?"

"What about the original plan?" Garrus asked.

"The Reapers are deploying anti-aircraft weapons." EDI explained. "However, the _Normandy _should be able to avoid them."

"Fine," Shepard accepted. "Meet us on landing pad one."

"Aye aye, Commander." Joker acknowledged. "On our way. ETA; ten minutes."

Anderson walked up to his side and looked down at the burning city.

"I'm sorry about Kirrahe, Shepard." He said.

"How are they doing?" Shepard meant the Councillors.

"They're rattled." Anderson answered. "They've never been in a situation like this. Hell, neither have I, but I'll manage. I don't think anybody here, except for you and your crew, were ready for this."

"I don't think anybody is ready for this." Shepard murmured.

"Shepard," Garrus pointed at landing pad one. "Dropship incoming!"

A Reaper dropship was deploying husks on the pad. Things were becoming complicated. Again.

"Anderson, we'll take the lead." Shepard said. "Stay with the Council."

Shepard moved onto the catwalk ahead, making a mental note to watch his footing. The gantry had a safety rail, but it was quite narrow. Fighting was going to be tricky.

Shepard opened fire on the closest husk and sent it tumbling down to the city below. Liara supported him with her biotics, Garrus kept them covered.

The gantries and catwalks were too narrow for all of them to advance and there wasn't enough cover. Shepard and his squad would have to clear the way.

They were almost at the landing pad; all they had to do was hold it.

That was the plan, but the plan was quickly useless.

Three Reaper fighters swept by and fired at the landing pad. There was the torturous sound of tearing metal before the landing pad fell and plummeted.

"Oh for…" Garrus began.

"Shepard, there's more than one pad." Zaeed radioed. He'd obviously seen the debacle. "One of them should have turrets we can use."

Shepard followed the catwalks into the building, avoiding the empty air where the landing pad had been. The building was much quieter than the outside, but no less disturbing.

Two N7 operatives and several guards had tried to hold off the Reapers, but they had all been killed. One of them was in several pieces. A helmet was all that was left of another one.

"God." Anderson breathed. "I can't imagine what it's like on Earth now."

Shepard heard the asari Councillor throw up in the corner. He couldn't blame her really; he'd thrown up after his first gunfight. It was only his experience that kept that from happening now.

"Loco, check out that gun." James pointed at it. "Looks like another N7 toy."

Shepard picked it up, with difficulty. Although it looked like an oversized sniper rifle, it was incredibly heavy.

It was an N7 Mjolnir anti-tank rifle, made for fighting Cerberus mechs. If Shepard had sat it on its stock or barrel, it would have been only slightly shorter than he was.

He'd left the Nægling behind; the Mjolnir would make a decent replacement.

Shepard considered telling Anderson to keep the Councillors inside, but he saw that the asari Councillor was shaking and that the salarian Councillor wasn't coping well either.

At least the turian Councillor was staying fairly calm. He picked up a discarded assault rifle and checked the thermal clip.

Shepard bypassed the next door's security lock and stepped outside.

Zaeed had been right about the next landing pad, it was fortified and defended by four automated guns, but they were obviously deactivated.

"Husks!" Garrus warned.

Shepard could see Marauders advancing on them, four of them. They were hemmed in by the metal walkway.

Shepard took a gamble and aimed the Mjolnir. The gun thundered and the recoil was ferocious, the muzzle was suddenly pointing skywards. Maybe he could modify it later.

But the weapon did the trick. The round tore through the first Marauder and kept on going.

It ripped through all four of them and only stopped in the last one.

"That had to hurt." Garrus remarked. "I want one."

"Get in line." Shepard joked.

"Raloi husks," Liara was already firing at them. "On both sides!"

Shepard crouched behind a crate and drew his Viper. He aimed at the head of one of the raloi and sent a bullet into its skull. The husk tumbled down to the ground.

Shepard switched to his Valkyrie and shot a second down.

A singularity from Liara left the last two helpless. Garrus barely had to aim to shoot them both down.

Shepard vaulted over another crate and onto the landing pad itself.

There was a crashed dropship on the pad, a Benning security force one.

"Garrus, can you get the guns online?" Shepard asked.

"Easily," Garrus smirked. "Remember that I spend most of my free time calibrating guns."

"Anderson, this dropship should make good cover." Shepard pointed at the wreck. "Get the Council down and keep them safe. Everybody else set up a perimeter."

Garrus calibrated each turret as quickly as he could; setting them to attack anything airborne except for allied ships.

There were also light machineguns similar to the N7 Typhoon in the dropship, Zaeed and James set them up on bipods on crates and railings.

"_Normandy_, what's your ETA?" Liara radioed.

"About six minutes." Joker replied. "Some fighters are on our tail, I've got to lose them."

"We're waiting at landing pad two." Liara told him. "And Reaper forces are inbound."

"They're coming in," James manned one of the MGs. "Six o'clock!"

Shepard took the one next to him.

Marauders and Devils were moving in for the kill.

One of the Marauders suddenly began to glow. Yellow light streamed from its eyes.

With a sense of dread, Shepard realised that Harbinger was possessing husks again.

"Neutralise Shepard." The possessed husk rumbled. "Kill the others."

"Focus on the glowing one." Shepard squeezed the trigger of the machinegun. It took a few seconds to reach its highest rate of fire, but once it was there it tore through shields and flesh.

"You cannot win, Shepard." The possessed Marauder lacked the advanced biotics Harbinger had given Collector drones, but it was clearly leading the other husks and was more accurate than usual. Maybe Harbinger took advantage of whatever husk it possessed.

The four turrets began to fire. Two Reaper fighters exploded in mid-air.

The bullets from the MGs finally shredded the possessed husk.

"Your efforts are useless, Shepard." Harbinger stated as the husk fell.

"Three o'clock," Zaeed called. "Those goddamn bird things are back."

Shepard ran to Zaeed's position. Garrus manned the gun he had left.

Anderson kept the Council safe, taking pot-shots at attacking husks.

"Shepard, our ETA is three minutes." Joker alerted them. "Shit! More fighters, somebody reroute power to the guns."

There wasn't anything they could do to help Joker. Shepard moved to the left flank and shot down another raloi husk.

A pair of Reaper fighters swung by, avoiding the turrets' gunfire, and destroyed one of the guns.

Debris showered the landing pad; some of it was on fire.

An Immolator scuttled up to the barricade. Luckily, Garrus had left a present behind.

The husk was blown apart by the proximity mine he had planted.

"Two minutes out," Joker sounded close to panic. "EDI, take these bastards out!"

A Reaper dropship flew in and hovered over the landing pad. The turrets shot it down, but they were too late to stop the Demon from jumping out.

"Krogan husk!" Zaeed yelled.

"Don't let it get to the Council!" Shepard shouted. He pulled out the Mjolnir and fired.

The shot went through the husk's armour, but missed the power core.

Shepard didn't have enough time to reload the gun. He switched to his Valkyrie.

The Demon aimed its minigun at him. Fragments of metal leapt up around Shepard as the gun spat.

Liara hurled a warp at the creature, distracting it and drawing its fire.

Its eyes began to glow yellow. Harbinger was back for more.

"Your galaxy belongs to us." Harbinger growled. "It is useless to resist."

"Focus all fire!" Shepard marked the husk with his targeting laser. His allies took aim and opened fire.

Possessed by Harbinger, the krogan husk seemed to have become tougher and more powerful.

It fired the minigun again, shredding the crate Shepard was behind.

Garrus fired a concussive shot and disabled the gun.

"Interfere if you must." Harbinger stated. "Your efforts are pointless."

It charged and swung its blade. Shepard rolled under it and activated his omni-blade. He stabbed it into the husk's back.

The husk swung round and nearly took his head off.

Liara flung another warp at it, shattering part of its armour. Garrus fired into the opening.

Shepard swung round and jammed a grenade into the cracked armour. He sprinted out of range.

The grenade exploded and the husk stumbled backwards.

It slipped off the platform, but managed to grab the edge with one hand.

Shepard drew his pistol and stepped up to it, aiming his gun at its face.

"This is just one of many pawns, Shepard." Harbinger growled. "You cannot comprehend our power. Your struggle is in vain."

"Remember what I told you?" Shepard retorted. "However insignificant we might be, we will fight, we will sacrifice and we will find a way." He began to squeeze the trigger. "We _will _defeat you."

He fired the pistol. The husk shuddered and dropped off the platform. Shepard watched it fall and hit the ground below.

The timing was excellent. The _Normandy _was approaching.

Joker had opened the cargo ramp for them. Kasumi and Thane were ready to provide covering fire.

"Get the Council in first." Shepard ordered.

Anderson urged them into the ship. They were eager to escape.

Shepard was the last to leave. The ramp closed behind him.

* * *

Joker pushed the engines to the limit during their flight to the Mass Relay. EDI didn't bother to warn him, he knew what he was doing.

Behind them, Benning burned as the Reapers swarming all over the planet.

They had saved the Council, but at a great cost.

"They'd better help us after that." Garrus seemed to read Shepard's thoughts. It didn't surprise him, they were good friends.

"Agreed." Shepard put his rifle down and sat on a box. His legs were still shaking. "Somebody tell Joker to take us to the Citadel."

Zaeed slumped against the container next to him. "Hell of a day." He muttered. "I think you picked the short straw, Shepard."

"I think you're right."

"Still, I'm glad we could shoot up some morons again." Zaeed said. "Just like old times."

"Commander,"

Shepard looked up to see Thane approaching. "What is it, Thane?"

"I thought that my time was done when we defeated the Collectors." Thane answered. "But my time is not done. I wish to join you in your fight against the Reapers."

"Thane," Shepard was surprised. He knew that Kepral's Syndrome had only recently been cured. "Are you sure you're up for this?"

"I wish to use the time given to me to remove some more darkness from this galaxy." Thane said. "I owe you a lot, Shepard. As my friend, I will stand by your side and defeat your enemies."

Shepard could hardly turn down the offer. Thane was an excellent fighter and a staunch ally. He extended his hand. "Welcome back, Thane."

"It's a pleasure to fight by your side again, Commander." Thane shook his hand. "I will find my place on the ship." He left then, carrying his gear away. Zaeed wandered off to talk to James.

Liara pulled up a crate and sat next him. "Is something wrong?"

If Garrus could guess what Shepard was thinking, then Liara could probably read him like a book.

"Bailey and Kirrahe." Shepard told her. "Bailey was desperate enough to turn to Cerberus, and Kirrahe sacrificed himself for us."

Liara nodded understandingly. "We saved the Council though, and some survivors too."

"I just hope it was worth the price."

"Nothing is easy, Shepard." Liara put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't give up. You're the only one who can save us."

"Not alone." Shepard replied. "We're going to need more help." He decided. "I think I need to find some old friends."

"And I know where to look."

* * *

_**That thing about the wounded was a moral choice. If this was a game, Shepard could have sent the Council in the tank, but most, it not all, of the wounded would have died.**_

_**The varren husks (Maulers) behave a bit like the FENRIS mechs in ME2**_

_**The klixen husks (Immolators) are made for clearing bunkers and homes. **_

_**As for Harbinger possessing husks, he doesn't seem like much of an antagonist in ME3 because he doesn't communicate with Shepard. This gives me an opportunity to change that. **_


	17. Grissom Academy

_**Sorry about the long absence, I've been busy with work. Don't expect frequent updates and don't be surprised if I don't do anything for days or even weeks, coursework is beginning and college is getting hectic. **_

_**But I will do my best to finish this story though.**_

* * *

"Unfortunate."

That was all the Illusive Man had to say about the death of Niles. He still had two operatives; Leng and Tanner.

"The Council escaped with Shepard." Leng added. "The mission was a failure."

"In some ways." The Illusive Man didn't get out of his chair. He simply waved his hand and waited for his assistant to pour him a drink. Leng and Tanner were actually watching a hologram. They were on a Cerberus stealth ship, the Manticore, in the Terminus systems.

The Illusive Man held the glass in one hand, a cigarette in the other. Tanner was tempted to smoke one himself, but decided against it, giving in would look like a weakness. He remained standing at attention.

"Shepard has shown support for the Council and Council races." The Illusive Man continued. "But Earth is still burning. This is a perfect opportunity to gather support." He flicked ash from his cigarette into a tray on his chair. "Leng, I want you to search for any leads related to the Prothean weapon Shepard discovered, I want to beat him in this race. And the loser dies."

"Yes sir." Leng nodded.

"Tanner, I want you to find recruits."

"Anywhere in particular, sir?"

"The Terminus would be a good place to start." The Illusive Man suggested. "Tell them that you're rallying support to take back Earth."

"And are we, sir?"

The Illusive Man knocked back some of his bourbon. "Of course." He stated. "Since Shepard betrayed us, perhaps you could persuade the dissidents of the Terminus that he betrayed them, people are still angry about the incidents on Freedom's Progress and Horizon. Fehl Prime is also worth investigating."

"Assuming there is still a colony there." Leng muttered.

"The Alliance won't abandon resources." The Illusive Man said. "But they seem to care more about intel and trade than people, at least the people of the Terminus believe that. You are dismissed. General Petrovsky will provide you with soldiers, Tanner. Leng, our contacts on Noveria may be of use to you."

Both men turned and walked out of the communications room, the hologram deactivated behind them.

The Illusive Man finished his drink before activating another hologram. This was a critical time for him, he had several threads to bring together to make the larger tapestry.

One that would make humanity the dominant race in the galaxy.

"Lawson," the Illusive Man addressed the man in the hologram by his surname. "Have you made any progress in your project?"

"We have." Lawson half smiled. "All I need now are some test subjects. Preferably aliens."

* * *

For once, the Councillors seemed to be out of their element. Anderson was the exception, but of course, he had believed Shepard.

The others had thought themselves safe from the Reapers and Cerberus. Both had just tried to kill them.

Shepard knew that they were badly shaken; for once he was greeted with silence.

Finally, the asari Councillor began to speak. "Commander… we must thank you…"

"You _should_." Anderson interrupted. "Shepard told you the truth; you ignored him and tried to lock him up. And then he saved you all from Cerberus _and _the Reapers. This is no time to stand on ceremony, Councillors."

"Anderson is right." Shepard agreed. "You've seen what we're fighting now. This is the time to fight."

"That's it?" The salarian Councillor demanded. "That's your plan?"

"We fight or we die," Shepard retorted. "That's the plan. We can win this war, but we must fight together."

"For Earth?" The turian Councillor asked.

"No." Shepard shook his head. "Not just for Earth. The Reapers will not stop until everything is gone. You've seen Palaven burning; you all saw what happened to Benning. That _will _happen to every world unless we act_ now_."

The Councillors glanced at each other. Anderson folded his arms and directed a quick nod of approval at Shepard.

"Commander," the asari Councillor paused, uncertain for once. "You are right. We should act now."

"But what should we say?" The salarian Councillor asked. "What should we tell people?"

"The truth." Anderson stated. "They deserve to know."

"We already have the krogan and the rachni offering support." Liara told them.

"Assuming they can be trusted." The turian Councillor murmured.

"They know what's at stake." Shepard said. "What about the rest of you?"

"The Dalatras is lobbying support against you, Commander." The salarian Councillor explained. "But I will see what I can do."

"Thessia is under attack." The asari Councillor explained. "But some of our colonies can send support."

"You know about Palaven." The turian Councillor added. "But we have forces ready to fight."

"Whatever you need, Shepard." Anderson nodded. "All you need to do is ask."

"Thank you, Councillors." Shepard remained courteous, even though his head was saying: _it's about damn time!_

"This meeting is adjourned." The turian Councillor said it this time. Maybe they took it in turns.

Shepard walked out of the Council chambers with Liara at his side.

"You didn't mention the Prothean data." Shepard realised.

"There was nothing to say." Liara said. "I'm afraid that it is becoming even harder to decipher. Shepard, something is missing, something vital."

"What do you suggest?"

"I don't know." Liara sighed. Shepard could see how tired she was, she hadn't been sleeping much. Neither had he. Sleep meant nightmares now.

"Liara," he put his hand on her shoulder. "It'll be okay."

She nodded slowly. "Okay."

Garrus and Thane were waiting for them in the commons. As usual, the "sun" was out and making everything dazzling.

"Shepard, we've got news." Thane quickly adjusted his pace to keep up.

"Most of it is good." Garrus added.

"Mordin is coming here to join the crew again, he got your message." Thane explained. "Plus, EDI thinks that she's found Jacob and Miranda."

"Anything else?" Shepard asked, expecting bad news.

"Grissom Academy went dark yesterday." Garrus said. "Somebody has put a bounty on your head."

"What?" Liara spluttered.

"Who?" Shepard asked.

"No idea." Garrus shrugged. "But you must have pissed somebody rich off badly. The bounty is _enormous_. I have never seen anybody with a bounty of five hundred billion credits on their head. I thought you would have been worth more, Shepard."

"Very funny, Garrus." Shepard sighed. "So every lowlife in the galaxy is going to be after me now."

"Pretty much." Garrus admitted. "We're doing what we can. Zaeed is telling his associates to stay clear and everybody else to stay away."

"Could it be the Illusive Man?" Thane wondered.

"It's not his style." Liara answered. "He prefers subtlety and would send an assassin like Kai Leng. No, this is somebody else."

Shepard was suddenly aware of how exposed they were. He could almost feel a crosshair settling on the back of his head.

He quickly walked under a walkway. Paranoia or not, he decided to be safe instead of dead.

In fact, they stayed under cover until they reached the docking bays. This was where Mordin would meet them.

"Shepard," Garrus whispered. "I'm going to drop back. There's a shadow."

Shepard knew what he meant. Somebody was following them.

Garrus slowed down and moved towards a news kiosk.

"Thane," Shepard lowered his voice. "Have you got a gun?"

It was illegal to carry one on the Citadel now, it was only allowed in special circumstances.

Thane pressed a small pistol into his hand, an M1 Protector, the guns that the Councillors seemed to conceal.

"They have little power." Thane murmured. "Use the stun or aim for the head."

Thane had an M1 of his own, Liara had her biotics. Shepard knew that Garrus was a skilled hand-to-hand expert.

The M1 felt so small that Shepard could have hid it up his sleeve on in his hand. But it was better than nothing.

Behind them, the human in the dirty green pilot's rig continued to follow them.

He saw a scarred turian reading a news report and walked past. Garrus slowly turned his head and saw the short blade appear in the man's hand.

Garrus was on him in a second, grabbing his arm and wrenching it behind his back. The man yelped and there was the audible snap of bone.

But he had backup.

Another human wearing casual clothes had suddenly drawn a stripped down Predator, a skeleton of a handgun, and was aiming it at Shepard.

Thane fired first, putting a bullet through the man's head without hesitation.

A turian went for Liara. They grappled briefly before Liara embedded him in a vending machine with her biotics.

People were screaming. A fight had suddenly broken out, one person was dead, another one had been thrown across the hall and one was being grappled by a turian.

Shepard saw a man aim another M1 at him. Shepard fired a stun round.

The man dropped silently, instantly unconscious, his gun skittered across the floor. The stun rounds were not as effective against armoured or shielded enemies, but they worked perfectly against these people.

"Shepard!" Garrus shouted the warning just before a woman jumped onto his back with a knife.

Garrus threw her over his shoulder and put his boot to her head, knocking her out.

Shepard saw the danger. A salarian was drawing a gun, but it was no pocket pistol.

It was an M91 Grendel, based on the old 44 Magnum, but nowhere near as old and even more lethal.

Shepard acted on impulse, charging into the salarian and grabbing his arm, making the gun point away.

He heard a sharp crack from Thane's M1 and the thrum of Liara's biotics.

Shepard wrestled with the gun. He was stronger and now the gun was aimed at the assassin's head.

"Who sent you?" Shepard demanded. "Tell me!"

"You should have taken the deal." The salarian hissed.

Shepard was suddenly deafened by the gunshot and something wet hit him in the face, momentarily blinding him.

He wiped it away and his hand came away covered in green.

The now headless salarian fell backwards. His gun was still smoking and was covered in gore.

"That was a hell of a way to go." Garrus commented. "He was a zealot."

"I can't believe this," Liara gestured at the carnage. "This many people willing to…" She shuddered. "On the Citadel too."

An airlock slid open. Shepard almost expected a shuttle load of bounty hunters to appear.

"Ah, Shepard." Mordin surveyed the carnage. "Strange welcome, but not entirely unexpected."

Shepard heard a wild shout and saw a batarian charging towards him with a stun baton.

Mordin calmly activated his omni-tool and stunned him. "Appear to have missed one."

He stated. "Incapacitated now, issue resolved."

C-sec had finally turned up, too late to help.

"What's going on here?" An officer demanded.

"You're bloody late." Garrus grunted.

"We were attacked by these people." Liara explained.

"C-sec can clean up." Mordin babbled. "Need to see lab, any changes?"

"Halt!" One of the officers aimed his shotgun at Mordin. "You're going nowhere."

"Unwise." Mordin stated. "Aware of thirty ways to disarm you. Ten to kill you. Anyway, Spectres can do as they please."

"You're a Spectre?" The officer sounded doubtful.

"He's not." Shepard said. "But I am. I trust you to question the survivors. We have no time to waste."

"But this is… it's a crime…" The officer stammered. "Oh to hell with it, just go."

Shepard walked onto the _Normandy_, followed by his friends. At least they didn't have to be questioned.

"Well," Thane flexed his wrists. "Most of them were poorly trained."

"They were desperate." Garrus stated. "Poorly trained, poorly armed and desperate for credits."

"They were willing to kill you." Liara was clearly shaken. Not by the fight, but by the fact that Shepard was in danger. "How could they?"

"People do terrible things in the name of survival." Thane murmured.

Liara bit her lip. "Killing Shepard won't save anyone."

They walked into the lab, which Mordin was eager to examine. "Ah! Excellent. Like a second home." He declared. "Happy to start work." He fiddled with a microscope. "Did the assassins say anything?"

Shepard remembered what the salarian had said. "One of them said I should have taken a deal."

"Which one?"

"The salarian." Garrus answered. "He had a Grendel, and they're not cheap."

"Ah, a varren among rodents." Mordin seemed to have yet another brainwave. "Makes sense, deal refers to recent events, armament implies professional assassin, race provides the rest."

"And?" Garrus prompted.

"The deal, Tuchanka, the Genophage cure." Mordin explained. "You helped krogan, not the Dalatras. She wants you dead."

"The Dalatras?" Liara repeated. "Goddess!"

"Now it makes sense." Garrus nodded. "But her idea is really short sighted."

"Revenge often short sighted." Mordin stated. "Remember; big picture made of little pictures, too many variables."

"Mordin, Liara has some Prothean data." Shepard said. "Something to do with a weakness. Could you help her with it?"

"Protheans not my area of expertise." Mordin considered quickly. "Will do what I can. Challenges are enjoyable, always seeking new ones."

* * *

Shepard checked the galaxy map, thinking about everything that just happened.

An assassination attempt, the Dalatras wanted him dead. The Reapers were destroying Benning, Palaven and Earth.

Shepard decided to discuss it with Liara; it was no good keeping it all to himself.

Liara knew that something was wrong immediately. "You look like you need a drink."

"I guess I do." Shepard agreed. Liara poured him some coffee; the two of them were practically surviving off it.

"When did you last sleep?" She asked.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Fair enough." Liara half smiled. "I have no idea to be honest. I almost slept at my desk."

"I don't know either." Shepard admitted. He felt the fatigue catching up to him and almost drifted then and there.

Liara stroked his cheek, waking him up. "Too long ago, I guess." She said. "It must be difficult, to have this much on your shoulders."

"It is."

"I'm here for you, Shepard."

"I know." Shepard murmured. "And I'm grateful."

Liara put her mug down and sat down on her bed. She gestured at Shepard to sit next to her.

"We'll make it, Shepard." She said with certainty. "We always do."

Shepard didn't know what to say. "All this talk of… war and weapons, when was the last time we talked about something else?"

"After we defeated the Shadow Broker." Liara recalled. "We talked about us, marriage and little blue children."

"I don't know, Liara." Shepard sighed. "After all I've done, after Bahak and so many dead friends, Kaidan, Bailey, Kirrahe… could it happen?"

Liara kissed him briefly on the cheek. "Yes." She answered. "We still have that chance."

Shepard managed a smile. "Thanks." He pressed the intercom. "Joker, set a course for Grissom Academy." He ordered, and then added: "Let me know when we're there."

"Aye aye, Commander." Joker replied. "Get yourself some rest."

Shepard shook his head. "I still think he watches us."

"EDI keeps him in check." Liara said.

Shepard chuckled. He didn't have much left to say.

Instead he closed his eyes and tried to take Joker's advice. Liara laid her head on his shoulder. After just a few moments they were both asleep.

* * *

"Commander, we're almost at Grissom Academy." Joker's call roused Shepard and Liara.

"Let me guess," Shepard sat up, rubbing his eyes. "There's a problem."

"Well guessed." Joker replied. "Yeah, there's a Cerberus ship guarding the station."

Shepard entered the CIC quickly. "Can you get past it?"

"Not likely." Joker answered. "Wait, I've got an incoming call."

"Put it through."

The message was a bit garbled. "This Kahlee Sanders requesting assistance from any Alliance ships." The name was familiar. "Cerberus is attacking the station, they're after my students."

"This is Commander Shepard of the _Normandy_." Shepard answered the call. "Where can we dock?"

"Cerberus is blocking the hanger."

"We know. We can see the cruiser."

"It's not hard to miss." Joker muttered.

"There's an emergency airlock you can use." Sanders explained. "I'll send you the coordinates."

Joker watched one of his screens. "Got it."

"We'll take the shuttle in." Shepard said. "Joker, can you distract those fighters?"

"Oh I can do better than that." Joker grinned. "I'll give them a Skyllian twist."

"That manoeuvre does not exist, Jeff." EDI stated.

"It does now." Joker raised his eyebrows. "I need to raise the speed."

EDI didn't bother to argue against his decision. Besides, Joker knew what he was doing.

Grissom Academy was pretty big, Shepard realised that he was going to need a large team to help evacuate it.

He selected some of his squad and sent them down to the cargo bay before heading down himself, grabbing any equipment he needed on the way.

The shuttle was going to be a little cramped. He'd picked Liara, Garrus, Mordin, James and Tali for the mission.

"All systems green." Cortez shut the doors. "What's the cue?"

The cargo door opened. Grissom station's hanger was getting closer.

"I guess that's it." Cortez muttered. "Joker, we're on the move."

As soon as the shuttle left the _Normandy_, Joker spun the ship around, steered away from the station and distracted the Cerberus fighters guarding it. He only needed to get them out of range and then he could shoot them.

Cortez landed the shuttle in the hanger. Joker's distraction had worked; Cerberus was too busy worrying about the Alliance ship blowing up their fighters to notice the shuttle.

"I'll take Tali and Mordin with me." Shepard announced. "The rest of you will stay here until I radio you."

"I'll just get my cards out then." James muttered.

"Guard the shuttle, James." Garrus shook his head as he stepped out of the craft. "Unless you want to fly back to the _Normandy _in a wreck."

"Grissom Academy, well known human facility," Mordin babbled. "Cerberus attack unethical, only logical if they want students."

"Why?" Tali asked.

"Many are powerful biotics, others are savants, geniuses." Mordin explained. "Cerberus might need them as experiments or for equipment."

"They won't take them." Shepard stated. "We'll see to that."

The corridors were mostly deserted; it looked like the station had entered a lockdown.

Cerberus had simply blown the doors open. Shepard hadn't brought any breaching equipment with him and he didn't want to endanger the students further.

At least Cerberus couldn't close the doors they had destroyed.

"EDI, can you open a secure link to Sanders?" Shepard asked.

"One moment, Commander." EDI responded. "Done."

"Sanders, can you hear me?"

"Who is this?" Sanders sounded surprised.

"Commander Shepard." Shepard gestured at Tali to secure a door ahead. "We're inside, where are you?"

"A security station, in section three."

"Useful coincidence," Mordin said. "We're in section three."

"Cerberus is outside my door, Commander." Sanders warned. "At least three of them, with two mechs."

"Stay down." Shepard told her. "We'll take care of them."

Shepard lifted his rifle and took the lead again, moving quietly through the corridors.

He could hear the voices of Cerberus troops ahead.

"Open the door!" The command was accompanied by a fist pounding the door.

"We should just blast her out." One of the soldiers muttered.

"We have orders to take her alive." The first one argued. He considered and then shrugged. "To hell with it, prep a frame charge."

Shepard marked targets for Mordin and Tali, the engineer for Mordin and one of the mechs for Tali.

He leaned round the doorframe and fired a single burst. One of the troopers hit the ground.

Mordin shot the engineer before he could lay the charge, Tali hacked the mech, letting it kill the other mech before activating its self-destruct, which killed the third trooper.

"Efficient," Mordin commented. "Area clear."

Shepard thumped the door. "Sanders, it's us."

Sanders had obviously guessed that the Cerberus troopers were dead, she opened the door.

She still took the precaution of aiming a shotgun at the opening, lowering it when she saw Shepard.

"Commander, I don't know why you came here, but I'm just grateful that you are here." She slumped into a chair next to a security console. "Cerberus came out of nowhere, we lost security in seconds."

"Are your students safe?" Shepard asked. He gestured at Tali to guard the door.

"Some of them are in Orion Hall, others are scattered." Sanders answered. "There's a small group in the training complex. Cerberus seems to want them alive."

"Cerberus wants talents, genius, technology, biotics." Mordin stated. "More useful intact."

"Cerberus has sent a lot of soldiers to Orion Hall, they're holding position outside." Sanders told them. "The majority of the students there are biotics, including their instructor."

"What kind of firepower is Cerberus using?" Shepard asked.

"Mostly soldiers and mechs, all of their soldiers are carrying stun batons and rounds." Sanders said. "They've also sent FENRIS mechs to hunt down students and they've sent in some sort of spiders with a… needle weapon, it paralyses people."

"Familiar." Mordin murmured. "Cerberus could be using Collector technology, similar venom used by Seeker swarms, would render victims helpless. Clever."

"It's sick." Tali muttered.

"Garrus, Liara, come down to the security office and keep an eye on things." Shepard radioed.

"What about me?" James asked, sounding bored.

"Stay with the shuttle, James." Shepard told him. "You join me in the next gunfight."

"Well, knowing you that'll probably be tomorrow," James said. "If not in a few hours."

"We'll keep moving." Shepard continued. "Sanders, can you access security feeds?"

"Some of them." Sanders turned her chair around to face the console.

"Keep an eye on things." Shepard told her. "If things go wrong, head to the shuttle bay and stay with the shuttle."

Sanders muttered something about everything being wrong. Shepard stepped out into the corridor and checked the map of the station on his omni-tool.

"Mordin, will those toxins Sanders mentioned work on us?" Tali asked.

"Unlikely." Mordin shook his head. "Weapon probably designed to work on unshielded, unarmoured targets. Regardless, stay cautious."

Shepard opened the door ahead and stepped through cautiously, checking the room and keeping his weapon raised.

"Do not fire unless fired upon." Shepard ordered. "And check your targets."

Tali glanced at her shotgun. "Maybe you should have brought Garrus along."

* * *

Orion Hall was a few gunfights away; Cerberus had left a few mechs behind to guard their backs.

According to Sanders Cerberus had sent three teams to take Orion Hall. They were being beaten by the biotic students.

"Garrus, Liara," Shepard radioed as he checked his map. "Head to the balcony above Orion Hall and provide support on my go."

"Moving up." Garrus responded. Shepard heard him load his sniper rifle. "I bet I can get more headshots than you."

"You're on, Garrus." Shepard watched the two blips on his map until they were in position. Liara was no sniper, unlike Garrus, but her biotics would help.

"Get ready," Shepard pointed at the door. "Tali, hack the door."

"A breaching charge would be quicker." Mordin pointed out.

"We don't want to risk the students' lives." Shepard stated.

"Got it." Tali announced. "Ready."

"Go!" Shepard moved through the opening door and landed a headshot on the first enemy he saw.

Another one turned to fire at him, but Garrus shot first. The students were on a balcony on the opposite side of the room, hurling biotic attacks at Cerberus soldiers and mechs.

A trooper ran around screaming, set on fire by Mordin, as Shepard took cover behind a table, knocking it onto its side for better protection.

The Cerberus troopers were being engaged from the front and the behind, the battle had turned against them. One of their mechs turned and opened fire on them, reprogrammed by Tali. Garrus was picking off any enemies stupid enough to move out of cover. They had no choice though; Liara and the students kept plucking them into the air with biotics.

Garrus fired his sniper rifle again and took out the last soldier with another headshot.

"That's seven, Shepard." He smirked. "I think you're lagging."

"Only by two." Shepard muttered.

"Stay back!" One of the students shouted at Shepard as he stood up.

"Chill out, Prangley." Somebody said. "Does he look like Cerberus?"

"Jack?" Tali wondered aloud.

Jack had changed since the mission through the Omega 4 relay. She had hair now, not much though, and was dressed more practically in a studded leather jacket.

She hadn't lost the hostility, biotics or the shotgun.

"Damn right," she vaulted down from the balcony, slowing herself down with her biotics. She strode over to Shepard and punched his shoulder, seemingly feeling no pain when her fist bounced off the armour. "Shepard, you're fu… you're late."

"Are you feeling okay?" Shepard noticed the pause.

"Yeah I'm great." Jack shrugged. "Except for these Cerberus fu… these Cerberus_ jerks_ invading."

"What's this?" Garrus chuckled. "Jack's going soft?"

"I can still throw you across the room, Garrus."

"What are you doing here?" Shepard interrupted their banter.

"Obvious." Mordin stated. "Students show similar fighting styles, Jack is their teacher."

"Without me, they'd suck." Jack muttered.

"_I will destroy you!" _One of the students mimicked her.

"They _like _my style." Jack smirked. "So what is the Alliance's cheerleader doing here?"

Shepard ignored the jibe. "We came here to help you."

"You quit Cerberus?"

"I quit when I blew up that station."

"I thought you just liked to blow shit up."

"He does." Garrus added unhelpfully.

"How about we have this reunion later, when we're all safe and sound and Cerberus is fu… damn it!" The students were giggling now.

"Sanders, we've secured Orion Hall and the students." Shepard radioed. "We'll send them to you."

"That's not possible now, Commander." Sanders said. "Cerberus is sending a ship to block the hanger. I think I can reach their shuttles though."

"James, find Kahlee Sanders in the security office, keep her safe, Tali will meet you there." Shepard instructed. "Cortez, return to the _Normandy_. We'll find another way off this station." Shepard turned back to Jack. "Garrus can provide sniper support. Liara can escort the students."

"They're _my _students, Shepard." Jack frowned.

"You have the access codes for this station." Shepard stated.

"Fine." Jack folded her arms and scowled. "Whatever."

Garrus loaded a clip into his sniper rifle. "This should be… interesting."


	18. Dead effort

_**Note to readers: The next 3 or 4 chapters might be shorter than usual; I don't want to stall for too long. **_

_**Also note that I have changed a couple of the previous chapters. I have decided to bring Thane in as a squad member again.**_

* * *

"So what are you killing now?" Jack asked as she punched in a security code. "Reapers?"

"Yes." Shepard answered. "Hopefully for the last time."

"Killing Cerberus on the way?"

"They're trying to stop us," Shepard said. "They're a threat too."

"They deserve it." Jack tried the code again. "Damn it, stand back."

Shepard and Mordin moved away as Jack charged up her biotics. With a snarl, she ripped the doors open.

"Skills still impressive." Mordin commented. "Should be cautious however, Cerberus will be expecting us."

Shepard took the lead again, moving quietly. This could become a hostage situation, and those rarely went well.

"How are my guys doing?" Jack asked.

"They're fine." Liara answered over the radio. "A little shaken, but unharmed. They're offering to provide support with their biotics."

"Acceptable tactic." Mordin approved. "High ground gives them superior position, could provide us with a tactical advantage."

"Whatever," Jack shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

"Keep them safe, Liara." Shepard told her. "They can pitch in if they want to."

"Students of Grissom Academy," a smug voice rang out over the speakers. "There is no need to resist. Cerberus wants to help you, the Alliance can't. We can help you find your families."

"Ignore that fu…" Jack sighed. "That jerk, kids."

"EDI, can you locate where that came from?" Shepard had an idea.

"It is being transmitted to speakers across the station," EDI said. "However, I believe I have located the source. Cerberus has set up a temporary command post hanger six."

"Then that's where we're headed." Shepard decided. "Keep an eye out for students on the way."

Mordin heard the grating voices first and signalled a halt. "Cerberus ahead."

"They're pretty distinctive, aren't they?" Jack muttered.

Shepard could see two soldiers and an officer. They were talking to three students hiding inside a dome shaped shield.

All three Cerberus operatives had their backs to Shepard and his squad.

"That's an impressive shield, cadets." The officer was saying. "Would you kindly lower it so that we can talk more clearly?"

"I'm not taking this down." One of the students stated. "Back off."

"How long will the power cells last for?"

"Long enough."

"We can blast out way through, sir." One of the soldiers grated.

"I'd to see you try." The student spat. "This is cyclonic barrier tech; it'll repel your bullets for hours."

Shepard glanced at Mordin, who shook his head and murmured: "Minutes only, in theory it could work for hours, but power supply is mobile and therefore limited."

"Mordin, take the one on the left." Shepard ordered quietly. "Jack, the one on the right is yours."

Shepard took aim and shot the officer in the back of the head, Mordin shot the trooper next to him. Jack decided not to use her gun and simply slammed the other trooper into the floor, crushing his skull.

The students watched them warily as they approached, except for one who was kneeling next to the shield emitter.

"Stay back!" One of the students ordered.

"I'm with the Alliance," Shepard told them. "We're here to help."

"I didn't buy it from the last guy," the student said. "Why should I believe you?"

"'Cause I'm here," Jack stated. "Remember me?"

The student kneeling next to the device was murmuring something. "Square route of 904.01 is…"

"30.1." Shepard answered.

The man looked up and saw Shepard. "Commander Shepard."

"You know him?" One of the students asked.

"Commander Shepard helped me." David Archer stood up calmly. "He made everything quiet again."

The students glanced at each other. They deactivated the shield.

"The biotic students are on the upper floor, go to them." Shepard instructed. "My friend is with them, she'll keep you safe."

David hung around for a few moments. "It is good to see you again, Commander." He handed Shepard a key card. "It opens the security office. There are guns, lots of guns."

"Thanks, David." Shepard accepted the card. "Stay safe."

David hurried off to join the other students. Shepard decided to make use of the key and opened the security office.

"He wasn't kidding." Jack smiled. "Now we can have some fun."

Shepard took some thermal clips and copied the schematics of a few extra weapons they didn't have.

They left through the backdoor and entered a park like area. Shepard hadn't expected any green spaces on the station.

Cerberus forces were waiting for them. Shepard could see snipers along one of the balconies.

Shepard switched to his sniper rifle and put a bullet through the head of another Nemesis. Garrus picked off targets from a distant vantage point.

Jack wrenched a pair of troopers in the area, letting Mordin pick them off.

The students were carefully throwing biotic attacks at the troopers below their walkway.

"Keep your heads down!" Jack shouted at them before unleashing a shockwave, throwing more Cerberus troopers out of cover. Shepard and Mordin shot them before they could return fire.

"We've still got the moves, Shepard." Jack remarked. "How are my students doing?"

"They're fine." Liara answered. "We're all unhurt."

"Sanders," Shepard risked a call. "Where are you?"

"Almost at their shuttles." Sanders responded. "They haven't seen us yet."

"Be careful." Shepard advised. "We've run into resistance." He switched back to his Valkyrie. "We'll take the lead, keep the students back."

Shepard gestured at the door ahead. Jack typed a code into the panel, opening the doors.

Cerberus was starting to give up. Their plan had gone badly wrong. Shepard could hear them talking over the radio.

"No, they're getting away." Somebody was saying. "Alliance I think, but they have aliens with them. I saw an N7 symbol."

"Shepard's here?" An officer spoke. "Damn it! All units converge on the shuttle bay. We need to stop them."

"We've lost contact with the shuttles, sir."

"Do whatever it takes." The officer ordered. "Situation Omega, terminate all non-Cerberus personnel. The students too, this mission is now a dead effort."

"Bastards!" Jack snarled. "If any of them touch my students I'll rip them apart."

"They won't hurt the students." Shepard assured her. "We won't let them."

The radio crackled. "Loco, we've got company here." James reported. "We're holding them off, but you'd better get here fast."

"Copy that, James." Shepard acknowledged. "Pick up the pace, people."

They moved fast, Cerberus was falling back to the hanger in an effort to stop Shepard from escaping. Their numbers had been drastically reduced, but they still had a surprise left in store.

Shepard entered a large room with a monument to Grissom inside, shooting the two troopers guarding the doors as he ran in.

"Incoming hostiles!" Mordin warned. "Neutralise quickly."

Shepard saw an armoured figure run out into the open. A whip of blue light flashed through the air and hit Shepard's shoulder. His shields went down instantly.

Shepard took cover behind the monument, waiting for his shields to charge.

The Dragoon moved to the left, trying to flank him.

He ended up facing the barrel of Mordin's gun. The salarin put a bullet through the Dragoon's head.

Shepard leaned out of cover and shot a sniper as he took aim. Jack pulled a second Dragoon out of cover, leaving him exposed to a hail of bullets.

"Liara, get the students to the shuttles," Shepard radioed. "We'll cover you."

Liara made her way to the shuttle bay entrance, sending the students out in small groups. Garrus jumped down from a walkway and protected the students as they moved.

"Mech!" Jack shouted.

Shepard knew how to take out Atlases by now. He aimed for the cockpit and fired an incineration blast to melt the armour. The cockpit was only protected by a thin sheet, which melted away like butter.

Shepard shot the pilot before climbing onto the mech. He hauled the dead pilot out and took the controls.

The Atlas lumbered around as Shepard turned it. He opened fire on the incoming Cerberus soldiers.

A pair of Guardians appeared on a balcony, taking aim with their machineguns. Shepard never gave them the chance to fire at the students and blew them to pieces with a well-aimed rocket.

"That's all of them," Liara radioed. "We need to leave now!"

Shepard jumped out of the mech, leaving a grenade behind, and ran to the hanger. He heard the mech explode and more gunfire.

"Get the students out of here!" Shepard ordered. A bullet whizzed past his shoulder and he briefly stopped to fire a few bursts at the troopers chasing them before running again.

"Wait!" Jack called. "Where the hell is Ramirez?"

Shepard heard a cry and saw one of the students throw herself behind a bench. She had fallen behind and was now pinned down.

The soldiers firing at her were trying to kill her, they no longer cared if the students lived or died.

Cerberus wanted them, but they wouldn't let them get away either.

Shepard opened fire on the soldiers. But he was out of cover and needed to reload.

One of the soldiers took aim at him. Another prepared a grenade to flush Ramirez out from behind the bench.

Both them were suddenly lifted into the air, slammed together, and then rammed into the ground.

"Come on, Ramirez!" Jack shouted as she flung another trooper into the wall. "Move your ass!"

The student stumbled to her feet and ran to the shuttles, jumping into the first one she saw.

"Shepard, that's all of them," Kahlee radioed. "We need to go!"

"Everybody on the shuttles!" Shepard yelled over the gunfire, shooting some more Cerberus soldiers. "We are leaving!"

Shepard was the last one on the shuttle. The doors slid shut as soon as he was in and the craft lurched out of the bay.

Jack slumped against the hull next to him. "Wasn't that fun?"

"Still have fun during fights?" Shepard asked.

"Hell yeah." Jack half smiled. "But I was enjoying life until these Cerberus fu… These Cerberus jerks showed up."

"What happened to the swearing, Jack?" Garrus asked from the cockpit. He was flying the shuttle; the other one was piloted by Kahlee.

"Some dumb rules that say I'm not allowed to swear." Jack muttered.

"Did they give you a, what do humans call it? A swear jar?"

One of the students sniggered.

"Cover your ears, kids." Jack grinned. "Garrus, fuck off."

"Ouch." Garrus chuckled. "That's the Jack I know."

"_Normandy, _this is Shepard, we're on our way back in Cerberus shuttles." Shepard radioed.

"So they're not trying a suicide run with shuttles?" Joker sounded disappointed. "I was going to show off some moves. Oh, those fighters you told me to distract? They're kind of… dead now."

* * *

The shuttles landed in the _Normandy _hanger. Shepard didn't really know what to do with two extra shuttles. He left them with Cortez, who said something about giving them a new coat of paint.

The students were given space in the crew quarters, at least until they reach the Citadel.

"You still kick ass, Shepard." Jack commented. "Not as well as me though."

"We could use your skills again, Jack." Shepard told her.

"Oh shit." Jack grimaced. "I should have guessed. There's another suicide mission, isn't there?"

"Hopefully it will be the last one." Liara said. "We're going to destroy the Reapers."

"You must be Shepard's crush." Jack muttered. "Shepard, have I ever told you that you're fucking crazy?"

"Maybe." Shepard shrugged. "But…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Jack interrupted. "End of all life and all that. I did enjoy teaching, but I'm up for some ass kicking again."

"There's still a spot down in the hold for you."

"I still don't like traffic." Jack nodded. "Okay, I'll be down there. I trust Sanders to look after the kids."

Liara extended her hand. "Welcome to the team."

To Shepard's surprise, Jack shook Liara's hand without swearing once. "Glad to be back." She stood up. "At least I can swear now. And it's Jack by the way."

"Your real name is Jennifer." Liara recalled. "Cerberus abducted you when you were young."

Jack paused, digesting the revelation. She shrugged. "Jack suits me better. Thanks for the info."

"I could find out more if you like." Liara offered. "My resources are more limited now, but I still have a few contacts."

Jack shurgged again, trying to look casual. Shepard could see that she was both surprised and excited though. "Yeah, if you have time." She gestured at engineering. "I'll be down there if you want me."

Liara glanced at Shepard after Jack had left. "She wants me to find out."

"Do what you can." Shepard said. "She's had a hard life, maybe you can find something to help her." He glanced at the students leaving the shuttles. David had left the group and was peering at the M47. Shepard approached him carefully, not wanting to frighten him.

"Ablative armour," David was murmuring. "Heavy shields. Maybe..." He noticed Shepard watching. "Commander, your tank's shields are outdated."

The statement didn't really surprise Shepard. He knew that the Tiger-Shark had been given a shield system similar to the Mako's. "I haven't had time to upgrade it."

"No need." David activated his omni-tool. "I can do it. I was working on a small cyclonic shield system that could be applied to your tank."

"Commander, David Archer might be the only one who can upgrade the M47's shields." EDI announced. "Against Reapers, we will need the best defences available."

"Thanks, David." Shepard nodded. "Go ahead, see what you can do."

David began to tinker with his omni-tool, murming mathematical equations that Shepard didn't understand. Now he had two reasons to be glad that he had saved David from Project Overlord.

That made him think about his next objective. He still had three people to recruit.

He made his choice on the way to the CIC. Miranda and Jacob were apparently hiding in an old research facility on an uncharted world.

"Joker, set a course for the Sparta system, in the Artemis Tau cluster." Shepard instructed. "I've got more friends to pick up."

"Might as well throw a party." Joker remarked. "Buckle up, folks."

* * *

**_The last two recruitment missions are coming up, plus a sort of loyalty mission. Since Shepard has the loyalty of all of the ME2 squad members, the loyalty missions are for James, Ashley, Liara and Javik._**


End file.
